Last week, an insurance agent with SIG Insurance was arrested after a 10-month fraud investigation. The Wichita Falls Police Department reports that Shawn Chambers was arrested in Clay County and charged with insurance fraud and misapplication of fiduciary property. Apparently Chambers was taking payments from people and depositing the money directly into his personal accounts. Meanwhile, policy holders were going without coverage, and they didn’t even know it.
Details of the Investigation
This arrest was the result of a 10-month long joint task force investigation between the Wichita Falls Police Department and the Texas Department of Insurance’s Fraud Division. These two departments were also able to solicit help from the president of SIG Insurance, Missy Pollard. Their investigation found that at least 25 clients with patterns of non-payment insurance coverage were connected with Chambers. Basically, although these clients were paying their premiums, they were listed as non-paying, because Chambers was depositing the checks into his personal bank account.
His policy holders paid money to keep their policies current, but they didn’t receive a receipt of coverage. Additional investigative efforts found that Chambers’ bank records also reflected that the checks went into this personal account.
The investigation also charges Chambers with acting in a fiduciary capacity knowingly, intentionally or recklessly misapplying property entrusted to him in a manner that involved substantial risk of loss to the victims, to the tune of over $100,000, which is a second degree felony.
A Second Complaint
Apparently, a second complaint and investigation was also discovered during the initial investigation. This time, it was filed by the Hartford. This compliant involved a claim Chambers filed on behalf for an individual he sold a policy to for damages that reportedly occurred on December 25, 2012. Not surprisingly, the claim was denied due to dropped coverage for non-receipt of payment. It remains to be seen if any other victims of Chambers’ fraudulent actions are discovered or come forward.
What to do if You’ve been Defrauded
If you’ve been defrauded in this type of insurance scheme, you need to speak with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. The WFPD reports that SIG Insurance has identified and reimbursed a total of $106,296.59 in connection with this case. Since insurance companies can be notoriously difficult to deal with, it’s a good idea to have an experienced attorney on your side, especially if you were denied coverage due to non-receipt of payment while you were being defrauded.