Chutzpah: Convicted of Insurance Fraud Appeals to Avoid Going to Jail
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Posted on February 8, 2022 by Barry Zalma
Tarek Abou-Khatwa appealed his conviction of a complex, multi-year insurance fraud scheme. He previously asked the court to delay the start of his incarceration pending the outcome of that appeal. On January 31, 2022, the court denied his request, explaining that Defendant’s appeal did not present a “close question” as to each count on which he was sentenced to prison.
In United States Of America v. Tarek Abou-Khatwa, Criminal No. 18-cr-67 (TSC), United States District Court, District of Columbia (February 4, 2022) Tarek’s multiple appeals in an attempt to avoid was again brought to the USDC.
Defendant filed an “Emergency Motion” with the USDC stating his intent to lodge a second appeal, this time challenging the court’s January 31 Order, and he requested that his self-surrender date be postponed pending the outcome of that new appeal.
Defendant’s conviction is presumed valid and he bears the burden of rebutting that presumption. In his previous motion, Defendant failed to rebut that presumption because he did not present a “substantial question of law” as to each count of his conviction for which he faces imprisonment. Accordingly, the court held Defendant’s self-surrender date in place.
Defendant, undeterred by his losses in the USDC, now argues that his self-surrender date should be delayed while he appeals that decision. He contended that his current self-surrender date is not “sufficient to allow time for briefing before both the district court and the court of appeals, as the parties originally intended.” He claims that additional time is necessary for “a motion to the D.C. Circuit appealing this Court’s order denying release pending appeal [to be] decided by that Court.” He also argues that refusal to grant further delay would “frustrat[e] his appeal rights under Section 3145(c) and Rule 9(b).”
The court disagreed that emergency action is necessary to avoid “frustrating his appeal rights under Section 3145(c) and Rule 9(b).”
ANALYSIS
First, 18 U.S.C. § 3145(c) pertains to appeals of detention orders, not release from custody, and so it is inapplicable. Second, nothing in the court’s January 31, 2022, Order restricts Defendant’s ability to seek relief from the Court of Appeals. The court, aware that the timeline for Defendant to both appeal this court’s January 31 Order and receive a decision on that appeal before his February 10 self-surrender date, is truncated. However, Defendant-not the court-bears responsibility for that accelerated schedule.
Actually, Defendant notified the court that he was appealing his conviction on June 10, 2021 and filed his opening appellate brief on November 1, 2021. Defendant could have moved to delay his surrender date pending appeal at that point, but instead waited until December 6, 2021. When Defendant did eventually file his motion, he requested only a one-month delay, from January 10 to February 10, 2022, which the court granted.
And third, rather than immediately appeal the court’s January 31 Order, Defendant waited two days to again move for relief and then proposed an additional two-day briefing schedule. In short, Defendant’s concerns about his ability to obtain relief from the Circuit are a product of his own doing.
Finally, in a footnote in his reply brief, Defendant requests that if the court denies the present motion that he be permitted “a short postponement, e.g., two weeks, so that he may appeal the Court’s disposition of the instant motion.” In other words, Defendant would like three appeal tracks: one attacking the merits of his conviction, which is now fully briefed and awaiting disposition from the Circuit; a second challenging the court’s January 31 Order denying his request to delay his sentence pending the first appeal, which Defendant reports “is being filed today,” and a third challenging this decision to deny his request to delay his sentence pending resolution of the second appeal.
Accordingly, the court denied Defendant’s latest request to delay the start of his incarceration.
ZALMA OPINION
Tarek’s fraud must have been very successful since he has the funds to have lawyers bring multiple motions and appeals to avoid incarceration. The actions are a clear explication of the concept of “chutzpah” or unmitigated gall. His efforts continue to fail and it is time that he reports to federal prison and begin his sentence after conviction for fraud. The USDOJ should consider determining what other crimes he was involved in that allows his the funds to support the multiple motions and appeals.
© 2022 – Barry Zalma
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders.
He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 54 years in the insurance business.
Subscribe to “Zalma on Insurance” at https://zalmaoninsurance.locals.com/subscribe and “Excellence in Claims Handling” at https://barryzalma.substack.com/welcome.
You can contact Mr. Zalma at https://www.zalma.com, https://www.claimschool.com, [email protected] and [email protected] . Mr. Zalma is the first recipient of the first annual Claims Magazine/ACE Legend Award.
You may find interesting the podcast “Zalma On Insurance” at https://anchor.fm/barry-zalma; you can follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at; you should see Barry Zalma’s videos on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg/featured; or videos on https://rumble.com/zalma. Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims–library/ The last two issues of ZIFL are available at https://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/
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Post 5434
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See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g-ZtsSgK and at https://lnkd.in/ghMBdYWR
A Contingent Offer Accepted Ends the Dispute
In Farmers Insurance Exchange, a California Reciprocal Insurance Exchange, The Superior Court For The County Of San Bernardino, Kathleen Ann Wood, E087128, California Court of Appeals, (July 9, 2026) Farmers Insurance Exchange insured Doyle Archer under an automobile policy with bodily injury limits of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Archer rear-ended Kathleen Ann Wood at a red light, causing Wood to assert a bodily injury claim against him. Wood’s counsel sent Farmers a pre-litigation settlement demand offering to resolve Wood’s claim for the available policy limits, stating that if the $100,000 demand exceeded the policy, the offer was for the policy limits.
Farmers timely responded in writing, agreed to pay Wood the $15,000 per-person policy limit, and provided the requested ...
Policy Limits Demand Accepted Settles Claim
Post 5434
Posted on August 26, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g-ZtsSgK and at https://lnkd.in/ghMBdYWR
A Contingent Offer Accepted Ends the Dispute
In Farmers Insurance Exchange, a California Reciprocal Insurance Exchange, The Superior Court For The County Of San Bernardino, Kathleen Ann Wood, E087128, California Court of Appeals, (July 9, 2026) Farmers Insurance Exchange insured Doyle Archer under an automobile policy with bodily injury limits of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Archer rear-ended Kathleen Ann Wood at a red light, causing Wood to assert a bodily injury claim against him. Wood’s counsel sent Farmers a pre-litigation settlement demand offering to resolve Wood’s claim for the available policy limits, stating that if the $100,000 demand exceeded the policy, the offer was for the policy limits.
Farmers timely responded in writing, agreed to pay Wood the $15,000 per-person policy limit, and provided the requested ...
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Fraud & the Fear of Bad Faith Suits
Posted on July 22, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gWQQEySW and at https://lnkd.in/gyhdK6wv
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
After ...
Insurance Requires Fortuity to be an Insured Risk
Post 5485
Posted on September 8, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Industrial Park Center, LLC, doing business as Mainspring Capital Group v. Great Northern Insurance Company, a foreign insurer, No. CV-25-0330-CQ, Supreme Court of Arizona (September 1, 2026).
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit certified the following question to this Court:
"Is damage to property a “fortuitous” loss when, based on the insured’s knowledge at the time the insurance policy issued, it was reasonably foreseeable that such damage was almost certain to occur if certain preventative measures were not taken?"
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Mainspring owned commercial property leased to Star Fisheries for decades. Star Fisheries’ use of water and salt allegedly caused structural damage over time. In 2010, Mainspring learned of damage and made some repairs but did not implement all recommended preventive measures. In 2021–2022, additional similar structural damage was discovered, and ...
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FCA’s Qui Tam Provisions do not Violate the Appointments Clause.
In United States Of America, Clarissa Zafirov, ex rel; Dr. v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, d.b.a. Vipcare, Physician Partners, LLC, Anion Technologies, LLC, Freedom Health, Inc., Optimum Healthcare, Inc., Physician Partners Specialty Services, LLC, et al., No. 24-13581, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 1, 2026).
The False Claims Act (“FCA”) allows the Attorney General to bring civil suits against perpetrators of fraud against the government. This case involves another portion of the FCA-the qui tam provisions-which allow people, called relators, who have knowledge about fraud against the government to pursue a case against the perpetrator of the fraud.
Dr. Clarissa Zafirov filed a qui tam action under the False Claims Act on behalf of...
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Post 5484
In David Cromp v. Johnny Harkrider, Monique Harkrider, and their Marital Community, dba Able Plumbing Plus, No. 61678-5-II, Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2 (August 25, 2026) David Cromp hired Able Plumbing Plus in 2018 to install plumbing, including two toilets, at his residence. In 2019, both toilets allegedly leaked, causing damage. Insurance claims were submitted through Able’s contractor policy, but the insurer eventually denied the claims.
Cromp sued Able in 2022 for breach of contract based on the allegedly defective toilet installation. During that case, Cromp attempted to add claims related to Able’s conduct during the insurance claim process, including fraud, bad faith, tortious conduct, and bond-related claims, but the superior court denied leave to amend. The 2022 breach-of-contract claim was later dismissed with prejudice on summary judgment as time-barred.
On the same day the 2022 case was dismissed, Cromp filed a ...
