Zalma on Insurance
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Insurance Claims professional presents articles and videos on insurance, insurance Claims and insurance law for insurance Claims adjusters, insurance professionals and insurance lawyers who wish to improve their skills and knowledge. Presented by an internationally recognized expert and author.
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March 14, 2022
How Insurance Fraud Destroyed a Family

Insurance Fraud by Insurance Professionals

Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-insurance-fraud-destroyed-family-barry-zalma-esq-cfe and see the full video at https://rumble.com/vxcwbq-how-insurance-fraud-destroyed-a-family.html and at

and https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4100 posts.

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Barry Zalma

See the full video at https://rumble.com/vxcwbq-how-insurance-fraud-destroyed-a-family.html and at

Bill and Libby were very successful insurance brokers. From their offices in Walnut Creek, California, the Bill and Libby Agency generated $100 million in premium volume for fourteen different insurers with whom they held an agency appointment. They were one of the biggest retail insurance agencies in northern California.

Success brought the good life. They owned a six thousand five hundred square foot mini-mansion in the hills of Oakland. They built the house over a lot purchased from a victim of the great Oakland Hills fire storm. Bill and Libby furnished the house with antiques and antique replicas. On every wall Libby hung her collection of ceramic plates and fine art prints. On every shelf sat Lladro sculptures, Hummel figurines and limited-edition sculptures and plates depicting English country scenes. Their daughter, Sassy, had a glass display case in her bedroom with a collection of more than 200 antique or collectible dolls.

The home was destroyed by fire. After minimal investigation established that fraud might have been attempted, the already six inches thick with invoices and estimates of repair costs were photocopied and delivered to L.G.L. Eagle. Eagle, appeared to be the twin brother of Gabby Hayes — with teeth was an effective and experienced insurance lawyer.

After submitting to an examination under oath Libby corrected her denials to an admission of fraud because her lawyer did not want her prosecuted for perjury.

Eagle reviewed the items for which Bill and Libby returned the money in detail. He found that some items he knew were fraudulent were not admitted to being fraudulent while some items he thought were legitimate were admitted to be false. He advised Secure and Stable to cash the check since the fraud had not been cured.

Libby continued to lie to herself and her husband in an attempt to reduce her wrongdoing. He recommended that the entire claim be denied, that the policy be declared void for fraud, and that the full amount paid on the void policy be demanded. If payment was not made instantly he further recommended that Secure and Stable file a suit in U.S. District Court under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) demanding three times the amount paid as punishment.

Secure and Stable could not allow insurance professionals who attempted to defraud their own insurer to profit from a crime against their profession.

A business built on the idea of Uberrima fides (utmost good faith) will not do business with people who have proven they cannot be trusted.

© 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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Videos
Posts
September 18, 2026
Expert May Only Testify to What Experience Supports

Insurance Expert May Not Testify to Speculative and Contains Unsupported Conclusions.

Posted on September 18, 2026 by Barry Zalma

See the full video at and at https://rumble.com/v7fmifw-expert-may-only-testify-to-what-experience-supports.html

In Michele A. Over, and The Estate Of Paul R. Over v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and State Farm Fire And Casualty Company, Civil Action No. 23-cv-02243-PAB-STV, United States District Court, D. Colorado (September 14, 2026) Michele and Paul Over sued State Farm Fire and State Farm Auto over hail-damage and stolen-vehicle claims.

The operative dispute concerned State Farm Auto’s motion to exclude or limit opinions from plaintiffs’ insurance-industry expert, Aaron Castillo. Castillo.

Law

The proponent of expert testimony must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that an expert is qualified and that the opinions are helpful, sufficiently grounded, and reliably derived and applied. Experience-based opinions must explain how the...

00:03:10
September 17, 2026
Convicted on 29 Tax-Refund-Fraud Counts

150 Months in Prison for Tax Fraud
Post 4846

Posted on September 17, 2026 by Barry Zalma

See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g8rh3JBX and https://lnkd.in/gmkdy-9C, In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.

FACTS

In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS

Thomas Addaquay controlled United Consolidated Accounting and Business Services (UC), nominally a check-cashing business.

The government proved a three-stage tax-refund scheme that converted the resulting refund checks into usable funds through ...

00:05:23
September 14, 2026
Court Enforces Fifth Amendment & Refuses to Compel Answers

Major Fraud Perpetrator Asserts Fifth Amendment Privilege to Avoid Prosecution

Post 5489

Posted on September 14, 2026 by Barry Zalma

Fraudster Refuses to Answer Questions About His Alleged Fraud

See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr and at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr

In Great American Insurance Co. v. Gemstone Property Management, LLC, et al., No. 23-cv-9100 (LJL), United States District Court, S.D. New York (September 8, 2026) Great American Insurance Company alleged that it was defrauded through a scheme in which Subin Associates, LLP recruited individuals to stage construction-site injuries, arranged unnecessary medical treatment and litigation funding, and pursued fraudulent personal-injury claims.

Luis Manuel Garcia Salcedo, resulted in a $6 million settlement. Non-party Jose Hernandez allegedly worked as an assistant manager at Subin, operated Hernandez Associates, and owned litigation-funding companies that shared office space with Subin and provided services to its clients.

After Great American ...

00:05:14
3 hours ago

RICO Suit Against Law Firm & Health Care Pros Fails

Posted on October 28, 2026 by Barry Zalma

UBER AND FEDEX FIGHT FRAUD

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is Designed to Defeat Fraud Perpetrators

In Uber Technologies, Inc., et al. v. Simon & Simon P.C., et al., Civil Action No. 25-5365, United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania (October 13, 2026) Uber Technologies, Inc. and Federal Express Corporation sued attorney Marc Simon, his firm Simon & Simon, P.C., and several medical professionals and practices under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

They allege the defendants orchestrated a scheme to generate and litigate fraudulent personal injury claims arising from motor vehicle accidents involving Uber and FedEx drivers. Uber and FedEx incurred defense costs and paid settlements on some claims. The court earlier denied a motion to dismiss, finding proximate causation adequately pleaded. Fact discovery is set to close December 21, 2026.

Discovery showed Uber’s...

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October 26, 2026
Expert Report Must Be Admissible or it Will be Excluded

No Breach of Contract no Bad Faith

Post 4568
Posted on October 23, 2026 by Barry Zalma

A Party Cannot Designate One Witness While Submitting An Undifferentiated Product Of That Witness And An Undesignated Collaborator.

Post 4568

In Dustin Cain; Amanda Cain v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, No. 25-60442, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (October 16, 2026) Dustin and Amanda Cain sought homeowners’ insurance benefits after a tree fell on their Mississippi home on August 27, 2022. State Farm concluded that the tree caused only a roof puncture and that other damage resulted from excluded long-term conditions. It paid $10,042.90 and later an additional $3,130.08.

The Cains relied on an engineering report and contractor estimate asserting substantially greater damage, sued for breach of contract and related relief, and designated Sean Fee as their sole expert. Fee’s report and a later repair estimate were jointly authored with Jim Irmiter, but neither document identified which opinions, work, or ...

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October 22, 2026
John Madden and The US Patent and Trademark Office

Blockchain Fraud Detection Loses Protection

Posted on October 22, 2026 by Barry Zalma

John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American Professional Football Coach and Sports Commentator in the National Football League Seeking Patent & Trademark Protection

BLOCKCHAIN FRAUD

Mr. Madden was more than football. He was working to establish a program called “Fraud Protection Systems, Methods, and Computer Programs for Blockchain Financial Transactions.”

In Ex parte John Madden, Appeal 2026-001497, Application 18/495,506, Technology Center 3600, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (October 14, 2026)

The Examiner rejected claims several numbered claims under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.

THE LAW

Section 101 makes patentable any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.Laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas are implicitly excluded.

THE PATENT TRIAL AND ...

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