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Convictions
THE FACES OF INSURANCE FRAUD The Arkansas Department of Corrections inmates pictured above were all convicted of insurance fraud.
BRECKENRIDGE, DON “MARK,” Pulaski County. On May 12, 2008, Breckenridge plead guilty to a fraudulent insurance act (Class D felony). Breckenridge was sentenced to 3 years probation under Act 346 and a $1,000 fine. He paid restitution of $58,795.95 to Cincinnati Insurance Company and $1,500 to the Arkansas Insurance Department for the cost of the investigation. Breckenridge reported his Mercedes stolen when, in fact, he had buried the car to collect the insurance proceeds.
WHITE, CAROL, Washington County. On April 9, 2008, White pled guilty to theft of property and attempted theft of property. White was sentenced to 72 months, with 48 suspended. In October 2005, White claimed David Cradduck’s vehicle struck her truck. Farmers Insurance, Cradduck’s insurer, paid White for the damage to her truck. No one claimed any personal injury. In February 2006, White made a claim with State Farm under her uninsured motorist coverage. White made representations that she could not locate Cradduck and that she did not receive any money for the damage to the truck or for her personal injuries. White submitted chiropractor bills and State Farm paid $30,000. On August 15, 2006, White claimed to have hit an abandoned vehicle. She once again submitted chiropractor bills. This time the adjuster requested medical records. When White could not produce the records, the adjuster discovered the chiropractor did not exist.
WHITE, TRACY EUGENE, Garland County. On February 25, 2008, insurance agent Tracy Eugene White pled guilty to theft of property (Class A misdemeanor). White was placed on one year probation and ordered to pay court costs. White failed to remit premium money from his client to an insurer. When questioned by the CID investigator, White refunded the money to his client.
BIZELL, LATRACY, Pulaski County. On October 29, 2007, Bizell entered a plea of guilty to one count of attempted insurance fraud (Class A misdemeanor). Bizell was sentenced to one year probation and payment of a $500 fine. Bizell was unable to purchase insurance in her own name because her drivers license was suspended. She licensed a car and purchased insurance under a friend’s name and then had an accident. Bizell paid restitution in the amount of $1,330.01 to Progressive Insurance.
RILEY, JAMES, Pulaski County. On October 11, 2007, Riley entered a plea of guilty to one count of insurance fraud (Class D felony). Riley was sentenced to two years probation, 50 hours of community service, ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, $250 DNA fee, and court costs. Riley claimed an illness from eating crab legs at a Red Lobster. He represented to Liberty Mutual Insurance Company that he owned a production company and lost $34,000 as a result of his illness because he had to cancel contracts, and he knowingly submitted false contracts to prove the loss of money.
ROBINSON, IDA, Crittenden County. On September 17, 2007, Robinson entered a plea of guilty to one count of insurance fraud. Robinson was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $250 fine and court costs. In August 2005, Robinson reported to the manager of the Food Giant grocery store in Marion that she had cut her toe on a loose wire on a magazine rack and demanded compensation. She was told she needed to bring in medical documentation reflecting the cost of medical treatment. Periodically she would return to the store and request compensation. Each time was told she needed to bring in medical treatment documentation. In December 2005, she brought in a medical invoice with a treatment date of December 29, 2005. There was no record of her receiving any kind of treatment at any hospital in August 2005.
CRABTREE, JENNIFER, Independence County. On August 14, 2007, Crabtree pled guilty to one count of theft (Class B felony). Crabtree was placed on probation for five years and ordered to pay $13,448 restitution, $1,000 fine and $250 DNA fee. Crabtree converted premium checks for her own use.
PICKARD, JAMES, Pulaski County. On July 18, 2007, Pickard pled guilty to theft of property (Class A misdemeanor). Pickard was sentenced to one year probation and ordered to pay a $300 fine plus court costs. Pickard did not forward a premium check to Hartford Insurance for more than a year.
GOWAN, BEVERLY, White County. On June 18, 2007, Beverly Gowan (male) pled guilty to two counts of Attempt to Commit Insurance Fraud (Class A misdemeanor) and one count of Theft of Property (Class C felony). Gowan was sentenced to 18 months in a Department of Community Correction Center plus 18 months suspended sentence, for a total of 36 months, and ordered to pay $3,600 restitution. Former insurance agent Gowan is a repeat offender, having previously been convicted of insurance fraud in 1999 when he sold insurance to his sister and did not forward the premiums to the insurance company. Her house burned and upon filing a claim, the sister discovered she was not covered. Gowan pleaded guilty in that instance and lost his license. The most recent charges against Gowan stem from an incident occurring in October, 2000. Johnny and Ruthie Foster purchased vehicle insurance from Dairyland Insurance at $208 per quarter and Gowan provided them with proof of insurance cards. Following an automobile accident in 2005, Johnny Foster filed a claim with Dairyland only to discover the company had never heard of him.
MARTIN, ELESHA, Pulaski County. On May 4, 2007, Martin pled guilty to three counts of arson and one count of insurance fraud. On June 22, 2007, Martin was sentenced to 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections (with seven years suspended conditioned upon her paying $514,928 in restitution) and a $250 DNA fee. As part of an elaborate scheme, Martin would take out renters insurance on a house and eventually set fire to the property in order to file a claim with her insurance company. Defrauded in the scheme were Farmers Insurance which paid a claim for $130,802, Encompass Insurance which paid a claim for $219, 783, and Nationwide Insurance which paid a claim for $164,342. One of the key leads in the investigation was Martin’s listing the same $10,000 designer wedding dress on the content loss inventory she supplied for two different houses.
VOCQUE, CHRISTY, Saline County. On May 3, 2007, Vocque entered a voluntary plea of guilty to one count of Theft of Property in excess of $2,500 (Class B felony), 13 counts of Theft of Property in an amount less than $2,500 but greater than $500 (Class C felony), and 6 counts of Theft of Property in an amount less than $500 (Class A misdemeanor). On June 18, 2007, Vocque was sentenced to 60 days in a Department of Community Correction Center, 20 years probation on the Class B felony, and 10 years probation on each of the Class C felonies, which is to run concurrently with the 20 years probation. The first five years of probation are to be supervised. In addition, Vocque was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay court costs of $150 and DNA fees. Vocque diverted client funds including premium payments for her personal use. As a special condition of probation, Vocque is prohibited from handling other people’s money or being in charge of other people’s money. This prohibition includes employment situations as well as charitable and recreational activities such as church or school functions. As a result of negotiations with the Arkansas Insurance Department, Vocque has made full restitution to her clients.
JORDAN, GUY (TREY), Garland County. On April 2, 2007, Jordan pled guilty to one count of Attempt to Commit Insurance Fraud (Class A misdemeanor). Jordan was sentenced to 12 months suspended sentence and ordered to pay a $500 fine. Jordan reported to the Garland County Sheriff’s Office on December 2, 2005, that some unknown person(s) stole his sailboat and that his wife, who he was in the process of divorcing, may have done it. In February 2006, Jordan filed a claim with Shelter Insurance stating the boat was stolen in January 2006. Jordan told the insurance company that 2 or 3 men were seen around the boat, never mentioning that his estranged wife had moved the boat. His ex-wife reported the boat was not stolen, and that Jordan knew she had moved it to another Marina.
SHUTTS, DEBORAH, Pulaski County. On February 13, 2007, Shutts pled guilty to one count of Attempt to Commit Insurance Fraud (Class A misdemeanor). Shutts was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, $150.00 court costs, and a $50.00 sheriff fee. Shutts provided Ohio Casualty Insurance Company false information by stating she was injured in her vehicle at the time of an accident when she was not in the vehicle and did not sustain any injuries.
JOHNSON, COREY, Jefferson County. On January 17, 2007, Johnson entered a negotiated plea of guilty to a Class D felony count of Fraudulent Insurance Acts. Johnson was sentenced to 36 months probation, 120 hours community service, $750.00 court costs, $250 attorney fee, $50.00 sheriff fee, $250 DNA fee and a $25 probation fee. Johnson had run his car off the road into a wooded area and lodged a tree stump into the frame of the car. He got the car back home, called his insurance company, and then found out the coverage he had would not cover his accident. He asked a series of questions to determine what kind of coverage he did have and then hung up. Two days later, he called the insurance company back stating his car had been parked on the street when it was run into by a truck driven by an unknown driver and he wished to file a claim, which would have been covered under his policy. Of course, the insurance company had records of his earlier call. They put two and two together, sent an adjuster out to look at the car and found a stump wedged into the frame of the car, which was inconsistent with Johnson’s story. The CID investigation was so good, it left the defendant “stumped” on how he could do anything other than plead guilty.
BOLDS, LINDA, Pulaski County. On January 8, 2007, Bolds entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Attempted Insurance Fraud (Class A misdemeanor). Bolds was sentenced to one year probation and payment of a $100.00 fine. Bolds was suspected of making false statements to her insurance carrier concerning the circumstances of the alleged theft of her vehicle. During the investigation, Bolds admitted to State Insurance Department investigators that on the afternoon her Kia Sorento was recovered from the Arkansas River, she had not driven it to the movie theater as she had reported to the police and her insurance carrier, but had traded it in on another vehicle earlier that day.
ROBINSON, RONALD, Pulaski County. On November 14, 2006, Robinson entered a plea of guilty to Falsifying Business Records (Class A misdemeanor). Robinson was placed on probation for one year and ordered to pay a $500.00 fine plus court costs. Robinson altered a Certificate of Liability document then presented the document as evidence of his insurance when, in fact, he did not have insurance.
BARNHILL, CHRIS, Pike County. On November 2, 2007, Barnhill plead guilty to Theft of Property (Class B felony). Barnhill was sentenced to 5 years probation, $500.00 fine, DNA Fee of $250.00 and ordered to pay restitution of $7,507.00 Barnhill submitted fake names to AFLAC in order to collect commissions.
TULL, SHAWN, Arkansas County. On November 6, 2006, Tull entered a negotiated plea of guilty to Arson (Class A felony). Tull was sentenced to 60 months in the Arkansas Department of Corrections and ordered to pay a $250.00 DNA fee and $150.00 court costs. Tull confessed to working with Stephanie Luebker in burning her house.
DIXON, CAROLYN, Randolph County. On October 30, 2006, Dixon entered a negotiated plea of guilty to two counts of Insurance Fraud (Class D felony) and one count of Theft by Deception (Class A misdemeanor). Dixon was sentenced to 12 months probation, payment of $2,336.50 restitution, $500.00 fine, $250.00 Public Defender’s fees and $150.00 court costs. Dixon was an insurance agent and the owner of Dixon Insurance Inc. in Pocahontas, Arkansas. Dixon was accused of altering declaration pages, invoices, and other documents provided to clients to falsely reflect higher charges than were actually charged by the insurance broker, carriers, and finance companies in order to charge her clients higher fees. In addition, Dixon was accused of filing an inflated claim with her insurance carrier for some repairs to her office, and of knowingly employing a person convicted of a felony involving dishonesty in her insurance business without the written consent of the Insurance Commissioner, as required by law.
MOORE, CURTIS, Craighead County. On October 9, 2006, Moore entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Theft of Property (Class B Felony). Moore was sentenced to 60 months probation, payment of $12,000.00 restitution, $236.00 court costs, $250 DNA collection fees, and a $25.00 probation fee. Moore was accused of being a member of a fraud ring operating out of the Jonesboro area. He filed a disability claim with AFLAC Insurance and submitted forged medical records in support of his claim for payment.
MCDANIEL, ARIAL, Pulaski County. On September 29, 2006, McDaniel entered a plea of guilty to Obstructing Governmental Operations (Class C misdemeanor). McDaniel was sentenced to 10 hours community service and a $100.00 fine. McDaniel gave a fake insurance card to a city employee to get her car out of the Impound Lot. Note: The Fraudulent Insurance Act has been amended to make this crime a felony, rather than a misdemeanor.
FLETCHER, NANCY, Greene County. On August 14, 2006, Fletcher entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Fraudulent Insurance Acts (Class A misdemeanor), in Greene County Circuit Court. Fletcher was sentenced to 12 months probation, 60 hours of community service, payment of $250.00 fine, $450.00 restitution and $200.00 court costs. Fletcher was accused of submitting a forged “Attending Physician’s Statement” in support of her claim for continuing disability payments.
TOMLINSON, BRADLEY, Washington County. On July 11, 2006, Tomlinson entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Theft of Property in excess of $2,500.00 (Class B felony) and one count of Theft of Services in excess of $2,500.00 (Class B felony). Tomlinson was sentenced to 1 day time served, 36 months probation, payment of $563.10 restitution, $150.00 court costs, and $1,000.00 Washington County restitution. Tomlinson was an agent for Farmers Insurance who was accused of misappropriating clients’ premium payments, and of manipulating the computer renewal system to avoid making payments on his own policies. Records indicated he had misappropriated premium payments for 21 different clients totaling $6,940.38, and avoided payments on various other policies totaling $6,483.22. The balance of the restitution, other than the $563.10, was paid prior to the court date via recoupments from Tomlinson’s commissions. In total, Tomlinson paid $13,423.60 in restitution.
SMITH, JOSHUA, Crittenden County. On June 15, 2006, Smith entered a negotiated plea of guilty on one count of Theft of Property in excess of $2,500.00 (Class B felony). Smith was sentenced to 48 months probation, payment of a $750.00 fine, $200.00 court costs, a $50.00 crime stoppers fee, and a $250.00 DNA collection fee, and credit for one day time served. Smith had made restitution of $38,386.25, prior to the date of his plea via recoupments by his employer, AFLAC Insurance. Smith was an insurance agent for AFLAC Insurance accused of generating unearned commissions for himself by creating 56 fictitious applications for non-existent insureds and adding them to group policies.
GIBSON, CASIPRIN CHARLES, Craighead County. On April 21, 2006, Gibson entered a negotiated plea of guilty to two counts of Fraudulent Insurance Acts (Class D felony) and two counts of Theft of Property in Excess of $2,500.00 (Class B felony). Gibson was sentenced to serve 48 months on each count of the Fraudulent Insurance Acts and 120 months on each count of Theft of Property in the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Gibson was ordered to pay $22,426.00 in restitution in installments of $190.00 monthly, to begin 90 days after his release. Casiprin Gibson was part of an insurance fraud ring operating out of the Craighead County area. He filed two false claims with his insurer, AFLAC Insurance, with forged medical records in support of those claims.
HOLT, LISA, Pulaski County. April 5, 2006, Holt entered a guilty plea to one misdemeanor count of Theft of Property and one misdemeanor count of Attempted Fraudulent Insurance Acts. She was sentenced to 1 year suspended imposition of sentence, 40 hours community service, and payment of $300.00 court costs and $1,000.00 restitution. While employed at Farm Bureau, Holt fraudulently processed and cashed checks from a Farm Bureau bank account. Holt signed documents with insured’s names, putting fictitious addresses on the documents, knowing this would cause the check to be returned, and then cashed the returned checks by forging the insured’s name.
GIBSON, BRENTON S., Craighead County. March 20, 2006, Gibson entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Fraudulent Insurance Acts (Class D. felony) and one count of Theft of Property (Class B felony). He was sentenced to 24 months with 120 months suspended imposition of sentence on the Theft of Property charge, 60 months suspended imposition of sentence on the Fraudulent Insurance Acts, and was ordered to pay $250.00 court costs, $250.00 public defenders fees, $250.00 DNA fee and restitution in the amount of $25,000.00. Gibson’s is the second conviction from a fraud ring operating out of the Jonesboro area that filed multiple claims against AFLAC Insurance based on forged medical records of injuries that never happened.
FEEMSTER, JOSEPH MICHAEL, Searcy County. March 3, 2006, Feemster pled guilty to Attempted Theft (Class A misdemeanor). He was sentenced to 1 year suspended imposition of sentence and payment of a $1,000 fine and $200.00 in fees and costs. Feemster was a licensed insurance agent for Farm Bureau who began diverting clients’ premium payments for his own personal use after recent health problems.
CONNELLY, SHARON, Pulaski County. March 14, 2006, Connelly pled guilty to attempted Fraudulent Insurance Acts (Class A misdemeanor). She was sentenced to a 1 year suspended imposition of sentence, 30 hours of community service and payment of a $500.00 fine plus court costs. Connelly’s boyfriend was involved in a hit and run accident while driving her car on February 5, 2005. On February 6, 2005, Connelly called the Little Rock Police Department and reported her car stolen. She claimed her car had overheated and she left it in a parking lot. Connelly’s boyfriend, who was not a covered driver under her car insurance policy, convinced Connelly to file a false police report and insurance claim so that her car would be repaired.
WIDENER, DAVID, White County. February 8, 2006, Widener pled guilty to Falsifying Business Records (Class A misdemeanor). He was sentenced to 1 year probation, twenty days of community service, a $500.00 fine, $150.00 court costs, $300.00 probation fee and $17,197.57 in restitution. Widener failed to properly account for premium refund money.
PATE, MICHAEL, Saline County. February 7, 2006, Pate entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Theft by Deception of an amount in excess of $2,500.00 (Class B felony). He was sentenced to 48 months supervised probation and 18 months unsupervised probation, payment of a $500.00 fine, $150.00 court costs and fees, $250.00 DNA fee, and full restitution to the victims in the amount of $9,258.07. Pate was a licensed insurance agent who diverted a number of premium payments for his personal use.
RODDY, STACEY, Pulaski County. February 13, 2006, Roddy pled guilty to a Fraudulent Insurance Act (Class D felony). She was sentenced to 2 years probation, 20 hours of community service, and payment of a $250.00 fine, $250.00 DNA fee, $25.00/month probation fee and $700.00 restitution. Roddy was selling fake insurance cards to customers at Car-Mart.
COHEA, MICHAEL, Bradley County. January 9, 2006, Cohea entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Fraudulent Insurance Acts (Class D felony). He was sentenced to 2 years probation and payment of $15,000 to the Warren Housing Authority. Cohea submitted a forged $15,000 bond to the Warren Housing Authority as security for construction work. He also filed forged bonds with his construction bids in Conway and Pope County. He entered a negotiated plea of guilty to Falsifying Business Records (Class A misdemeanor) in both counties. Cohea was sentenced to 1 year probation, payment of a $1,000.00 fine and $150.00 court costs on January 25, 2006, in Conway County; and 1 year probation, payment of a $1,000.00 fine and $150.00 court costs on January 31, 2006, in Pope County.
MCCLENDON, TRISHANNA, Saline County. January 5, 2006, McClendon entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Theft by Deception of more than $2,500.00 (Class B felony). She was sentenced to 6.5 years probation, payment of a $200.00 fine, court costs, restitution to State Farm in the amount of $5,466.87, and restitution to Matthew Reginelli in the amount of $4,193.26. McClendon was a licensed insurance agent working for the Reginelli Insurance Agency who altered payment records to misappropriate premium funds and refunds.
EWING, MELANIE, Saline County. January 5, 2006, Ewing entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Theft by Deception of more than $2,500.00 (Class B felony). She was sentenced to 5 years probation, payment of a $200.00 fine, court costs, restitution to State Farm in the amount of $9,871.36, and restitution to Matthew Reginelli in the amount of $7,650.00. Ewing was a licensed insurance agent working for the Reginelli Insurance Agency who altered payment records to misappropriate premium funds and refunds.
WRIGHT, MARVIN LEE, Sebastian County. November 2005, Wright pled guilty to two counts of felony Theft of Property. He was sentenced to 60 months imposition of sentence, drug counseling 3 times a week for 6 months, and payment of $900.00 in fines and costs and $7,213.00 in restitution. Wright was a licensed insurance agent who wrote policies without the knowledge of the person on the application, using information he obtained through legitimate attempts to sell policies and through previously sold policies. Wright would receive commission from the sales, and then let the policy lapse. Wright would also use copies of checks in order to set up a direct draft from the victim’s bank account. No insureds were held liable for any of the debts.
Gates, Michael, Craighead County. October 28, 2005, Gates entered a negotiated plea of guilty to 14 counts of Fraudulent Insurance Acts (Class D felony), 9 counts of Theft of Property with a value of more than $2,500.00 (Class B felony), 1 count of Hot Check Violation for a amount in excess of $200.00 but less than $2,500.00 (Class C felony) and 1 count of Failure to Appear (Class C felony). He was sentenced to 144 months on one count of Theft of Property and 120 months total suspended imposition of sentence running concurrently on the remaining counts, and payment of $23,533.69 in restitution. The court found he actually owed $199,746.67 to AFLAC Insurance, payment of which would remain subject to civil collection remedies. Gates was part of a fraud ring operating out of the Jonesboro area that filed multiple claims against AFLAC Insurance based on forged medical records of injuries that never happened.
KING, ANTHONY, Pulaski County. September 13, 2005, King entered a plea of guilty to one count of Altering or Changing an Engine or Other Numbers and one count of Theft by Receiving. King was sentenced to 10 years with 7 years suspended and payment of $7,071.95 restitution to Nationwide Insurance.
Brown, Danel sr., Pulaski County. August 15, 2005, Brown entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Attempted Fraudulent Insurance Acts (Class A misdemeanor). He was sentenced to 1 year, suspended imposition of sentence except for 1 day credit for time served, and payment of a $1,000.00 fine, $150.00 court costs, and a $50.00 sheriff’s warrant fee.
king, james earl, Crittenden County. August 4, 2005, King entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of Fraudulent Insurance Acts (Class D felony). King was sentenced to 15 months probation and payment of a $250.00 fine, $150.00 clerk’s fee, $50.00 sheriff’s fee, $50.00 crime stoppers fee, and a $250.00 DNA fee.