In recent weeks, insurance fraud investigators across states from North Carolina to Florida have been active, leading to the arrests of firefighters, suspected auto-crash scammers, and a man who allegedly filed a false claim after his car fatally struck a pedestrian.
In Mooresville, North Carolina, Scott William Hughes was charged with insurance fraud after allegedly claiming to Central Insurance Co. that his daughter had struck a deer in September 2024, according to a bulletin from the North Carolina Department of Insurance.
It was later revealed that a pedestrian had been killed that same day in a hit-and-run. According to the Department of Insurance, investigators concluded that Hughes’ daughter was behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck the victim.
Hughes was released on bond and is currently awaiting trial. His daughter, a minor whose name was not disclosed in news reports, was charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run and using a mobile device while driving, according to WBTV. The incident resulted in the death of a 20-year-old victim.
Just days later, William Earl Epps Jr. of Thomasville, North Carolina, was charged in a separate hit-and-run case for allegedly filing a false insurance claim. Epps reported his vehicle as stolen, but according to the Department of Insurance, a witness saw him fleeing the scene of the crash.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, two city firefighters were arrested following a months-long investigation that revealed they had set fire to a vehicle, which one of them later reported as stolen. Alvin Cox and his supervisor, Captain Adrian Strickland, were both charged with arson last week.
According to FOX5 TV, Cox told investigators he had parked the Hyundai near a restaurant and discovered it missing the following day. However, his account began to fall apart when investigators found no trace of the vehicle on surveillance footage or license plate readers. Cox’s attorney maintains that the firefighter is innocent of the charges.
In Miami, Miami-Dade Sheriff’s detectives were alerted by an insurance company about questionable injuries related to a crash. The investigation revealed that six individuals were allegedly involved in intentionally damaging a vehicle and staging the accident.
The owner of a medical clinic was also charged with submitting fraudulent bills for injuries tied to the staged crash, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office this week.
“Through extensive investigative efforts, detectives uncovered that those involved had pre-signed blank therapy forms, which were later submitted to insurance carriers to fraudulently claim treatment,” the office said in a statement.
Officials also confirmed the involvement of an auto body shop. The investigation, dubbed 'Operation Crash and Cash,' is still ongoing.
Source: insurance journal
