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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May 11, 2022
True Crime of Insurance Fraud Video Number 71

Miscarriage Manipulation for Money

Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gYQCAR39 and see the full video at https://lnkd.in/geBmJtia and at https://lnkd.in/gKibuU7X and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4200 posts.

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Barry Zalma

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Barry Zalma

See the full video at https://rumble.com/v147vii-true-crime-of-insurance-fraud-video-number-71.html and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4200 posts.

Rita was five months’ pregnant. Her entire family greeted her condition as an opportunity to make sufficient money for a happy Christmas in sunny Hawaii.

For four generations Rita’s family has lived luxuriously on insurance claims. Their last names changed more often than their underwear. Wherever they go, they carry a small plastic valve of soapy liquid and a small razor. Depending on the size of the town they are visiting, they stay a week, a month or a year. One member of the family will claim to have slipped and fallen in a restaurant or grocery store. With the razor they will induce bleeding at their hairline or on an arm or leg. They will be pleasant victims with no interest in profit. Grocers, and their insurers, rapidly and fairly settle their claims in fear that their injuries will increase.

Rita had been a professional claimant since she was eight. She fell in the most luxurious restaurants in Las Vegas, New York City, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Missouri, and Beverly Hills, California. Shortly after she began to walk, her family taught her how to slip and look like she was hurt without actually causing any physical damage. By the time she was five she could limp on either leg, hold one arm limp, wince with pain when touched and give all the symptoms of a severely injured person.

By the time she was ten she had a clear knowledge of anatomy and knew all of the symptoms of soft tissue injury. Now, at 22, pregnant with the child of a sailor she met in San Diego whose name she does not remember, Rita is ready to move into major, profit making scams. Her brother Aaron would pose as her husband as they worked the major hotels and restaurants of Sacramento, California. At the Holiday Inn, she fell in a puddle of water in the lobby restroom where two innocent women ran to her assistance.

“Oh, my God!” Rita moaned. “Did I hurt the baby.”

Rita rode to the hospital with her “husband” sitting in the ambulance beside her, wringing his hands. They left their name, a mail drop address and a telephone number which connected to the family cellular telephone, with the hotel. She and the baby were found healthy and allowed to leave, although the doctor, because of the family history of miscarriage, noted on the hospital record that here condition was “guarded” and that she should cautiously watch for any spotting or other indication of a potential miscarriage.

In the next four days Rita fell in five hotels, two department stores and three restaurants in greater Sacramento. She rode to the hospital in an ambulance twice and visited a local chiropractor known to her family four times.

The family lived, and traveled, in three sixty-foot motor homes equipped with cellular telephones, a computer and all the comforts of a luxurious home. The family knew better than to be greedy. They never presented more than 10 claims each in any one city.

Rita and Aaron were reasonable people. They told the adjusters they did not wish to hire a lawyer. Although they were afraid they might lose the baby, the doctors had assured them that the baby was unhurt by the fall.

The adjusters, sensing an ability to settle the claim quickly before the baby was born, with possible extra damage, worked quickly to gain the confidence of Rita and Aaron. They wanted a release that would protect their clients.

They had no knowledge of Rita’s family history. Liability was clear. Independent witnesses observed a slick, soapy substance on the floor and on Rita after she fell.

Rita and Aaron were professional claims presenters. They played upon the innocence and good faith of the insurance adjusters. They would tell the adjusters:

“We don’t want money. We just can’t afford to pay the doctors’ bills. Please pay those for us and we’ll be happy.”

The adjusters, knowing the law and knowing that if litigation was filed Rita would be entitled to money for her pain and suffering, insisted that Rita take more money than the medical bills. Most of the claims were settled for between $6,000 and $25,000, depending on the generosity or gullibility of the individual adjusters.

Rita’s potential miscarriage brought her family over $100,000 for their stay in Sacramento. Her brothers, sisters, cousins and nephews falling all over the city generated another $100,000 in claims payments.

Their welcome in Sacramento worn thin, the family motor homes traveled west to San Francisco.

The motor homes were parked in a long term secure parking lot and the entire family boarded airplanes for a three week holiday in Maui.
ZALMA OPINION

The reason why a group of professional slip and fall claimants can succeed is due to the failure of insurers to conduct a full and thorough investigation of a claim presented. Had the adjuster’s investigated Rita’s claims and had they checked the All Claims Data Base the crime would have failed.
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(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/

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What else you may like…
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
21 hours ago
Announcement About False Claims Act Settlement Results in Damages Suit

Employee Report of Fraud Results in Damages Suit After Qui Tam Suit Settled

No Statutory Hearing Right Arose Because No Dental Commission Complaint License Suspension, Revocation, Or Sanction Occurred.

Post 4855

Posted on October 2, 2026 by Barry Zalma

In Abbas Mohammadi et al. v. William M. Tong et al., No. AC 47598, Court of Appeals of Connecticut (September 29, 2026) Abbas Mohammadi owned and operated Columbia Dental, P.C., which provided dental services through multiple Connecticut offices; Columbia Oral Maxillofacial Imaging, LLC served as the billing entity.

From April 2012 to February 27, 2013, Columbia Dental employed Brittany Ames Mahoney as a dental assistant. During her employment, Mahoney claimed to have discovered certain billing irregularities, including, but not limited to, false and fraudulent reimbursement claims submitted to the Department of Social Services for services rendered to Medicaid beneficiaries. Mahoney filed a complaint and an affidavit in the United States District Court for the District of...

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October 01, 2026
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter – October 1, 2026

Another Anniversary for Barry Zalma, Inc

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Barry Zalma
From October 1, 1979 – 2026

Post 4854

Read the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf Forty seven years ago today I left the world of the employed and became an entrepreneur by opening my own law firm. The law practice was incorporated shortly thereafter as Barry Zalma, Inc.

When I opened for business on October 1, 1979, I had no clients and no certainty that I would have any in the future. I had borrowed money from the bank to carry me through the first six months and was concerned about my ability to pay the loan with my third child about to be born.

Much to my surprise and pleasure, on October 1, 1979, at 8:10 a.m., the best claims handler in the London market, Alan Warboys, called from London and provided me with my first case as an independent lawyer to represent Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London. He, and the Lloyd’s Underwriters he represented, showed faith in me as a lawyer and insurance expert. Alan is now, although ...

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September 30, 2026
Suing for Services Provided, and Paid for, is Fraud

Defendants Successfully Moved for Summary Judgment

Post 4854

Posted on September 30, 2026 by Barry Zalma

In Jeffrey Wayne Phillips v. Creative Website Studios, et al., No. 5:23-CV-568-BO-BM, United States District Court, E.D. North Carolina, Western Division (September 28, 2026) the Court needed to rule on the order and memorandum and recommendation (“M&R”) of the Magistrate.

Jeffrey Wayne Phillips had contracted with Creative Website Studios and SR Telecommunications for website and hosting services. He alleged that defendants repeatedly billed him for hosting periods he had already paid for and later took down his website. Phillips claimed the outage prevented him from bidding on U.S. government security contracts and sought roughly $300 million in consequential damages.
LAW

Under North Carolina law, fraud requires a false material representation or concealment, intent and effect of deception, resulting damage, and reasonable reliance. Obtaining property by false pretenses similarly requires an ...

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