“We often say crime doesn't pay, and this is a perfect example,” said Kentucky DOI Commissioner Sharon P. Clark. With a couple years in prison, and more than triple the amount he fraudulently claimed in fines, Whiteside learned this old lesson the hard way.

NORTH CAROLINA
Hello Mother, Hello Frauder

Encouraging a son or daughter to take part in an activity is part of a parent's job, but one father may have taken it too far.

In November 2008, Travis Lamond Draughn of Virginia filed an insurance claim for a hit-and-run accident involving his vehicle. The claim was paid by his insurer, 21st Century Insurance Company, and may not have raised any flags — until the same damages were reported one month later by his father in an attempt to gain another payout.

After investigating the case, North Carolina Department of Insurance investigators found that the car was in fact damaged in a previous collision with a tree, and was not involved in a hit-and-run accident. Noah Freeman, Draughn's father, urged his son to file the first claim, and later filed his own in order to collect a total of $4,688 for the two reports.

Both men have been arrested on charges of insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense, and felony conspiracy.

CALIFORNIA
Too Little, Too Late

Ronald Velasquez, of Mentone, Calif., discovered that when it comes to insurance claims, it's not always better late than never.

At approximately 3:15 p.m. on June 8, 2008, Velasquez rear-ended another vehicle. A short 41 minutes later, Velasquez purchased car insurance online.

Unfortunately, he hadn't bought insurance as a precaution for future accidents. It was his prior mistake of driving uninsured that he was trying to erase. A few days after the accident actually occurred, Velasquez filed a claim stating that he was involved in a traffic collision that occurred June 11.

The claim, which would have cost the insurance company $10,000, was denied after it was found that Velasquez had purchased his policy after the real collision. The auto insurance policy was just too little, too late, and didn't keep Velasquez covered in court. He was booked at the Orange County Jail for filing a fraudulent auto insurance claim, with bail set at $30,000.

MARYLAND
Bogus Bonus

Walter Lewis, formerly an insurance adjuster for Nationwide, has been found guilty of stealing more than just office supplies from the company.

From April 5, 2005 to August 2006, Lewis managed to steal $15,203 from Nationwide. Why didn't anyone notice sooner? He was using a real insurance claim that had become dormant to cover his tracks. By associating each of the checks with that claim, and writing the checks to either himself or a friend, he was able to go unnoticed – or so he thought.

Unfortunately for Lewis, not one, but two agencies, were working on his case. The joint investigation by two Maryland investigative divisions resulted in a court case in which Lewis was sentenced to 82 days in jail for felony theft. Lewis will also be making restitution for each check he so generously wrote himself.