Lucy and the Tsar
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See the full video at https://rumble.com/v13emlt-true-crime-of-insurance-fraud-number-66.html?mref=16emn&mrefc=2 and at
Lucy served as second officer on a 747 operated by Trans-Oceanic Airlines. Twice a week she flew from Dallas to Leningrad; with brief layovers in New York and Brussels. She had been a second officer for five years. Lucy was looking forward to promotion to first officer. She would be the second woman to command a 747 for Trans-Oceanic.
Her performance reviews were always exceptional. Never had Trans-Oceanic Airlines treated her differently than any other pilot. The glass ceiling seemed nonexistent.
Lucy, as a highly paid professional airline pilot, owned a beautiful 5000 square foot home in Dallas where she lived with her son, daughter and a full- time housekeeper/nanny. She was happy. Her future was unlimited. At forty years of age she was approaching the apex of her professional career.
Her layover in Leningrad was usually two days. Lucy would recover from the inevitable jet lag by visiting the great museums of the time of the Tsars. Her favorite was the Hermitage, which was once the Tsar’s summer palace.
To the museum she always brought along her Nikon single lens reflex camera that recorded each picture with very high resolution. She used the Nikon to photograph the magnificent treasures stolen by the Bolsheviks from the Tsar. The fast lens and digital enhancement allowed her to obtain images without using a flash. Lucy would spend evenings in her hotel sorting her photographs into categories on her lap top.
She had collections of close-up shots of Faberge royal Easter eggs; of oil paintings by Gaugin, Degas, Van Gogh and Picasso; and photos of fine works of art made by native Russian craftsmen unknown in the West.
Lucy converted the settlement check to US currency Travelers Checks. She placed the Travelers Checks in her overnight bag on the airplane. When she landed, as part of a well-known airline crew, her luggage was not inspected by the local customs officials. The Travelers Checks, better than cash, entered the new Russia without hindrance. Lucy immediately went to the dealer appointed by the Hermitage and purchased the Fabergé bird she lusted for paying only 200,000 US Dollars in Travelers checks.
With the remaining $50,00 she purchased two Fabergé silver cigarette cases and a small Picasso drawing in pencil signed and dated by the artist. The bird is displayed prominently over Lucy’s mantelpiece and she used the Fabergé cigarette case to hold note papers and a fountain pen.
Lucy was lucky. If anyone at Edward Lloyd’s Insurance Company had gone to the Dallas public library, they could have found similar photographs of the same items in any one of several books on the Hermitage collection housed at the library. They did not.
Lucy was promoted to Captain. She now commands a Trans-Oceanic 747 that flies three times a week nonstop from Dallas to London’s Heathrow airport.
She is starting a collection of photographs from the Queen’s Museum at Buckingham Palace.
ZALMA OPINION
It is time for the insurance industry to invest in a team of insurance claims professionals who know how to investigate a claim, interpret an insurance policy, and deal with a false and fraudulent claim to keep people like Lucy for enjoying a life of successful crime.
(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].
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Concurrent Cause Doctrine Does Not Apply When all Causes are Excluded
Post 5119
Death by Drug Overdose is Excluded
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Southern Insurance Company Of Virginia v. Justin D. Mitchell, et al., No. 3:24-cv-00198, United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Nashville Division (October 10, 2024) Southern Insurance Company of Virginia sought a declaratory judgment regarding its duty to defend William Mitchell in a wrongful death case pending in California state court.
KEY POINTS
1. Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings: The Plaintiff moved for judgment on the pleadings, which was granted in part and denied in part.
2. Duty to Defend: The court found that the Plaintiff has no duty to defend William Mitchell in the California case due to a specific exclusion in the insurance policy.
3. Duty to Indemnify: The court could not determine at this stage whether the Plaintiff had a duty to ...
GEICO Sued Fraudulent Health Care Providers Under RICO and Settled with the Defendants Who Failed to Pay Settlement
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Post 5119
Default of Settlement Agreement Reduced to Judgment
In Government Employees Insurance Company, Geico Indemnity Company, Geico General Insurance Company, and Geico Casualty Company v. Dominic Emeka Onyema, M.D., DEO Medical Services, P.C., and Healthwise Medical Associates, P.C., No. 24-CV-5287 (PKC) (JAM), United States District Court, E.D. New York (July 9, 2025)
Plaintiffs Government Employees Insurance Company and other GEICO companies (“GEICO”) sued Defendants Dominic Emeka Onyema, M.D. (“Onyema”), et al (collectively, “Defendants”) alleging breach of a settlement agreement entered into by the parties to resolve a previous, fraud-related lawsuit (the “Settlement Agreement”). GEICO moved the court for default judgment against ...
ZIFL – Volume 29, Issue 14
Post 5118
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You can read the full 20 page issue of the July 15, 2025 issue at https://lnkd.in/giaSdH29
THE SOURCE FOR THE INSURANCE FRAUD PROFESSIONAL
This issue contains the following articles about insurance fraud:
The Historical Basis of Punitive Damages
It is axiomatic that when a claim is denied for fraud that the fraudster will sue for breach of contract and the tort of bad faith and seek punitive damages.
The award of punitive-type damages was common in early legal systems and was mentioned in religious law as early as the Book of Exodus. Punitive-type damages were provided for in Babylonian law nearly 4000 years ago in the Code of Hammurabi.
You can read this article and the full 20 page issue of the July 15, 2025 issue at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ZIFL-07-15-2025.pdf
Insurer Refuses to Submit to No Fault Insurance Fraud
...
Rulings on Motions Reduced the Issues to be Presented at Trial
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CASE OVERVIEW
In Richard Bernier v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, No. 4:24-cv-00002-GMS, USDC, D. Alaska (May 28, 2025) Richard Bernier made claim under the underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage provided in his State Farm policy, was not satisfied with State Farm's offer and sued. Both parties tried to win by filing motions for summary judgment.
FACTS
Bernier was involved in an auto accident on November 18, 2020, and sought the maximum available UIM coverage under his policy, which was $50,000. State Farm initially offered him $31,342.36, which did not include prejudgment interest or attorney fees.
Prior to trial Bernier had three remaining claims against State Farm:
1. negligent and reckless claims handling;
2. violation of covenant of good faith and fair dealing; and
3. award of punitive damages.
Both Bernier and State Farm dispositive motions before ...
ZIFL Volume 29, Issue 10
The Source for the Insurance Fraud Professional
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Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 29th year of publication dedicated to those involved in reducing the effect of insurance fraud. ZIFL is published 24 times a year by ClaimSchool and is written by Barry Zalma. It is provided FREE to anyone who visits the site at http://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/ You can read the full issue of the May 15, 2025 issue at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ZIFL-05-15-2025.pdf
This issue contains the following articles about insurance fraud:
Health Care Fraud Trial Results in Murder for Hire of Witness
To Avoid Conviction for Insurance Fraud Defendants Murder Witness
In United States of America v. Louis Age, Jr.; Stanton Guillory; Louis Age, III; Ronald Wilson, Jr., No. 22-30656, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (April 25, 2025) the Fifth Circuit dealt with the ...
Professional Health Care Services Exclusion Effective
Post 5073
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This opinion is the recommendation of a Magistrate Judge to the District Court Judge and involves Travelers Casualty Insurance Company and its duty to defend the New Mexico Bone and Joint Institute (NMBJI) and its physicians in a medical negligence lawsuit brought by Tervon Dorsey.
In Travelers Casualty Insurance Company Of America v. New Mexico Bone And Joint Institute, P.C.; American Foundation Of Lower Extremity Surgery And Research, Inc., a New Mexico Corporation; Riley Rampton, DPM; Loren K. Spencer, DPM; Tervon Dorsey, individually; Kimberly Dorsey, individually; and Kate Ferlic as Guardian Ad Litem for K.D. and J.D., minors, No. 2:24-cv-0027 MV/DLM, United States District Court, D. New Mexico (May 8, 2025) the Magistrate Judge Recommended:
Insurance Coverage Dispute:
Travelers issued a Commercial General Liability ...
