Phony insurance scam in Illinois and Wisconsin being investigated
According to investigators the scheme to defraud area insurance companies was simple. Most accidents involved only three people. One person would spill liquid on the floor of a store. Then another person would come along and pretend to slip and fall on the liquid. Sometimes it was paper.
Another person, acting as the lookout, made sure that no one was witness to the accident. The fall would then be reported to store management. Investigators say that the claim would be paid by the insurance company and the claims would cost between $4000 and $8000.
The fraud took place at "big-box" stores in Illinois and Wisconsin. Before insurance officials realized that something was suspect, almost sixty claims had been paid.
Overall 33 people were involved in the scheme. Sixteen insurance carriers paid claims from August 2005 until February of this year. In a news release issued by Zurich Insurance, the settlements were paid directly to the person involved in the "accident."
Zurich officials worked in cooperation with postal inspectors who helps discover the ring of con artists. These slip and fall claims were in instances, being reported up to three times a day.
Lori Groen, an inspector for the USPS, said a US attorney has been assigned to the case.
