Insurance Frauds Are Not Born, They Are Trained
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6921812566495150081?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_updateV2%3A%28urn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A6921812566495150081%2CFEED_DETAIL%2CEMPTY%2CDEFAULT%2Cfalse%29 and see the full video at https://rumble.com/v11bte9-true-crime-of-insurance-fraud-video-number-56.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=2 and at
and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4150 posts.
Wee Willy never intended to be a criminal. His ambition in life, from age three, was to be a meat cutter like his dad. Willy cruised through high school with a solid “C” average. He knew that as a meat cutter he only needed a steady hand. Literature and mathematics held no interest for him.
As a child he would visit the store where his father worked and watch sides of beef turn into chops, steaks and hamburger with rapt attention. His father, he believed, was an artist who turned ugly chunks of dead animals into beautiful and delicious food. His ambition was to be the Picasso of meat cutters.
When Willy graduated from high school his father helped him join the meat cutters local as an apprentice. He began his career at a neighborhood Piggy Wiggly market. As an apprentice Willy was ordered about by the journeyman meat cutter. The duties of an apprentice included sweeping up the cuttings, collecting the excess fat so that it could be sold to the renderer, and lifting and carrying carcasses for the journeyman.
On slow days the journeyman would let Willy practice on the giant band saw. Willy was happy. Even as an apprentice meat cutter he was doing what he always wanted to do. He was learning his trade. He also could bring a few cuts of filet mignon to his girlfriend’s father. When her father was happy with Willy, his girlfriend was even more loving.
Willy had outfitted his house from the local Goodwill store. By the time his house was rebuilt, he had a brand new house worth twice as much as when he bought it, completely furnished with new furniture from quality stores. He immediately put the house on the market and made a $100,000 profit. With the money, he traded in his car and bought a brand new Corvette, a gold and diamond ring and a Rolex President with a diamond face. He gave his old Rolex to his father.
Life was good. Willy decided to go into business for himself. He would become a builder. He attended the contractor’s license school for one day and learned enough to pass the test and become a licensed contractor. Willy was in business for himself. He really didn’t need to work. He was going to use the contractor’s license to make more money off of insurance. Any construction job he did would be paid for completely by the insurance company.
Willy’s two domestic insurers were members of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and the ISO All Claims database; Lloyd’s was not.
When each insurer submitted their report of Willy’s robbery, the ISO and NICB advised both insurers of the other claim that appeared to be similar to their claim.Each insurer had in place a special fraud investigation unit (SIU). The SIU investigators contacted each other and found that the two claims were identical and based upon the same appraisals. Lloyd’s, through their independent investigators, also used the All Claims database and the adjusters for the three insurers shared information concerning Willy’s claim.
Within six months Willy fell off an oil tank and broke his leg in three places. Although it hurt a great deal, Willy was happy. He had workers’ compensation again and, with his disability insurance policies, his take home pay tripled.
He knew the leg would be slow to heal and he could enjoy a life of leisure paid for by all of the other stupid people who bought workers’ compensation insurance but did not benefit from it as did Willy.
(c) 2022 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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. He is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected].
Subscribe to Zalma on Insurance at locals.com https://zalmaoninsurance.local.com/subscribe.
Subscribe to Excellence in Claims Handling at https://barryzalma.substack.com/welcome.
Write to Mr. Zalma at [email protected]; http://www.zalma.com; http://zalma.com/blog; daily articles are published at https://zalma.substack.com.
Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at https://anchor.fm/barry-zalma; Follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library/
Arsonist Tried To Represent Himself, Failed, and Sought Habeas Relief
Post number 5357
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/he-who-acts-his-own-lawyer-has-idiot-client-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-d4bwc, See the full video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog.
Karacson’s Arson for Profit Attempt Required Skill & Experience to Succeed
In Steve Ellis Karacson v. David Shaver, Warden, No. 25-1089, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit (May 20, 2026) Steve Karacson was convicted in Michigan state court of arson and insurance fraud after evidence showed he burned his own insured home. Investigators found multiple points of origin, gasoline odor, and evidence tying him to the scene, including cell-phone location data and a receipt showing he had purchased a gas can and gloves shortly before the fire.
FACTS
Karacson initially had appointed counsel, but his relationships with both appointed attorneys ...
Foolish to Repeatedly Disobey Court Orders
All That Remains For Trial Is Plaintiff’s Damages On Each Of These Claims And Establishing Proximate Causation Of Those Damages.
Post number 5348
See the full video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus 5300 posts.
In Linh Wang v. Esurance Insurance Company, No. C24-0447-JCC, United States District Court, W.D. Washington, Seattle (May 1, 2026) John C. Coughenour, United States District Judge, found that throughout this case, culminating with its briefing on Plaintiff’s renewed motion and that Defendant has subjected Plaintiff to unnecessary motion practice for clearly discoverable information and made dubious representations (including to the Court).
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
This case involves an underinsured/uninsured motorist insurance bad faith claim arising from a 2017 motor vehicle collision. The plaintiff, Linh Wang, alleges that Esurance Insurance ...
The Right to Negotiate with Insurer is Not an Assignment of Claims
Post number 5347
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ambiguous-contract-repair-assignment-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-2xppc, see the full video at https://rumble.com/v79is1s-ambiguous-contract-to-repair-not-an-assignment.html and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Nebraska Requires an Actual Assignment to Allow Contractor to Sue Insurer
In Millard Gutter Company, a corporation doing business as Millard Roofing and Gutter v. Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Nebraska, also known as Farmers Mutual Insurance, also known as Farmers Mutual, No. A-24-818, Court of Appeals of Nebraska (May 5, 2026) Millard sued Farmers as an assignee of Jane Anzalone who had hired Millard Gutter to repair the roof of her home and agreed to allow Millard Gutter to coordinate with her insurer, Farmers Mutual, concerning reimbursement for repairs authorized under her insurance policy.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
In ...
Qui Tam Case Without Evidence to Prove Fraud Fails
Post number 5369
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/qui-tam-insurer-contended-defrauded-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-pgfgc and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5550 posts.
In People Of The State Of California Ex Rel. Heath & Yuen, APC v. Silver Bird Auto Leasing, LLC et al., B342847, California Court of Appeals, Second District, Eighth Division (June 5, 2026) Heath & Yuen, APC defended parties in an automobile collision case involving a McLaren and a tour van. After that case settled for $25,000, the firm filed a qui tam action under California’s Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (IFPA) against Silver Bird Auto Leasing, LLC, X-Law Group, PC, and Filippo Marchino. The firm alleged three fraudulent acts in the underlying litigation:
1. the complaint falsely stated the McLaren was making a “legal turn,”
2. respondents produced a fraudulent repair bill/estimate, and
3. respondents failed to disclose Marchino’s GEICO insurance and its payment for repairs....
Full Faith and Credit Act Controlled
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/evHXiiFE and at https://zalma.com/blog.
Posted on June 9, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Post number 5368
Posted on June 9, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Prime Insurance Company, Inc. v. Medicab Transportation, LLC, Jason Rhodes, and Dale Johnson v. Prime Insurance Company, Inc and Prime Property & Casualty Insurance, Inc. No. 2:24-cv-421-SPC-KRH, United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Fort Myers Division (June 3, 2026) Medicab, a paratransit company, bought two policies in 2021: a Business Auto Policy from PPCI and a Commercial Liability Policy from Prime. Both policies, as originally written, appeared to cover injuries arising from loading and unloading patients from Medicab vans.
After a patient, Margaret St. Aubin, fell while being unloaded from a van and suffered injuries, her Estate made a $1 million demand. Prime and its claims administrator concluded that the Commercial Policy’s loading/unloading language had been included by mutual mistake, because...
Full Faith and Credit Act Controlled
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/evHXiiFE and at https://zalma.com/blog.
Posted on June 9, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Post number 5368
Posted on June 9, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Prime Insurance Company, Inc. v. Medicab Transportation, LLC, Jason Rhodes, and Dale Johnson v. Prime Insurance Company, Inc and Prime Property & Casualty Insurance, Inc. No. 2:24-cv-421-SPC-KRH, United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Fort Myers Division (June 3, 2026) Medicab, a paratransit company, bought two policies in 2021: a Business Auto Policy from PPCI and a Commercial Liability Policy from Prime. Both policies, as originally written, appeared to cover injuries arising from loading and unloading patients from Medicab vans.
After a patient, Margaret St. Aubin, fell while being unloaded from a van and suffered injuries, her Estate made a $1 million demand. Prime and its claims administrator concluded that the Commercial Policy’s loading/unloading language had been included by mutual mistake, because...
