Fraud of the Week
Falsified Documents - Iowa
Amount – $49,976.90
An Iowa man is charged with insurance fraud for presenting false information regarding a fire claim he submitted to his insurance company for a fire in his shed in 2019. The shed was a total loss, and the man filed documents showing he had purchased 216 bales of hay and 52 bales of straw 3 days before the fire, and he claimed that all the straw and 163 bales of hay were destroyed.
When investigators contacted the seller of the hay for verification, the seller advised that the insured only ordered 90 bales of hay valued at $24,000 in November, which was after the September fire, and that the insured had not paid for the purchase. The documents the insured used in the claim were estimates only, and not invoices for actual purchases.
Insurance fraud is a Class D felony, and can carry a sentence of up to 5 years in prison and fines ranging from $750 to $7,500.