Am I In Trouble?
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gdifzsrm and see the full video at https://lnkd.in/g6U74iVp and at https://lnkd.in/gxKn59gG and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4200 posts.
Bankruptcy Fraud Defeats Legitimate Insurance Claim
See the full video at https://rumble.com/v1572mx-true-crime-of-insurance-fraud-video-number-76.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=3 and at
Insurance fraud, like any other profession, improves with practice. The beginner, unaware of the tools available to an insurer, makes a stupid error that will destroy him or her.
Abraham MacPherson was an insurance fraud novice. He had succeeded, with ease, in defrauding his bank by submitting a false financial statement as part of the application for a loan. He even convinced an FBI Agent, checking his fraudulent loan application, that he was the victim of a dishonest loan broker. Success made Abraham bold. He decided it was time to branch out into insurance fraud.
The Petition for bankruptcy, like most filed in the Bankruptcy court showed MacPherson to have no equity in any of his property and no money. He reported his assets as only $500 in jewelry and the tools of his plumbing trade since they were exempt from the grasp of his creditors. What he did not tell the Bankruptcy Court was that MacPherson also owned a $150,000 twin engine Cessna Aircraft that he used to go on hunting and ski trips. He did not tell his lawyer about the airplane because he did not want it sold for the benefit of the judgment creditor whom he felt cheated him.
The day his debts were discharged Abraham called his insurance broker. He advised the broker that his home had been burglarized. He claimed the burglars took all of the jewelry on the schedule. He demanded the immediate issuance of a check for $41,960.
MacPherson stuck to his story. He demanded immediate payment or he would complain to the California Department of Insurance and file suit.
Moseby reported to his principal, the insurer, who decided to deny the claim for fraud. Further, following the law, since MacPherson had admitted to Bankruptcy fraud, the insurer instructed Moseby to pass the information he had obtained to the FBI. In addition, as required by California law he presented the information to the California Department of Insurance, Fraud Division.
Moseby was right, MacPherson was not in trouble with him. He simply would not collect on his claim. MacPherson was in serious trouble with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was upset that MacPherson had fooled him. After verifying the results of Moseby’s investigation the FBI presented the information to a U.S. Attorney. Prosecution followed charging MacPherson with Bankruptcy Fraud, Mail Fraud — for the presentation of a false and fraudulent claim to an insurer by use of the U.S. Postal Service — and for loan fraud.
He went to trial in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on charges of Bankruptcy fraud. The trial took five hours to complete and the jury was instructed on the law at 4:00 p.m. They deliberated for three days and convicted MacPherson, who was sentenced to serve three years in federal prison.
ZALMA OPINION
It doesn’t pay to lie to an insurance company about a claim. Doing so can lose your claim. It is worse to lie to a bankruptcy court because that is a federal crime that could put the liar in jail for as much as five years. This case proves why it is best to always tell the truth.
(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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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...
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 ...
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 ...
A Suit Filed Before the Claim Exists is Fatal
Post 4870
Posted on October 20, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Louis Briggs v. Shaun Wimberly; Somerset Services, Inc.; And Wimberly & Associates, PLLC, and Louis Briggs v. Shaun Wimberly And Wimberly & Associates, PLLC Nos. 2024-CA-1471-MR, 2025-CA-1366-MR, Court of Appeals of Kentucky (October 9, 2026) Louis Briggs was arrested in 2014 after an incident with police and charged with several offenses, including third-degree assault.
Probable cause was found and an indictment was returned, but the charges were eventually dismissed. His attorney, Shaun Wimberly, then filed a federal civil rights suit for Briggs in a United States district court, which also asserted state-law claims. The district court dismissed most of the claims and declined to exercise jurisdiction over the remaining state-law claims. Briggs blamed Wimberly for the result, fired him, and appealed to the Sixth Circuit.
While the federal appeal was pending, Briggs filed a legal malpractice action against Wimberly in the Jefferson Circuit Court. The Sixth ...
Plaintiff’s Reading of the Policy is Plaintiff’s Reasonable Allegations
Posted on October 19, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Post 4868
CLASS ACTION THAT STATES A SIMPLE CLEAR AND PLAUSIBLE CAUSE OF ACTION SURVIVES
In Sheila Marino v. Farmers New World Life Insurance Company, No. 2:25-cv-02200-JNW, United States District Court, W.D. Washington, Seattle (October 13, 2026) defendant Farmers New World Life Insurance Company’s (“FNWL”) moved to dismiss Plaintiff Sheila Marino’s putative class action involving flexible universal life insurance.
Marino filed a putative class action in King County Superior Court alleging: (1) breach of contract, (2) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and (3) violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA).
She pleaded two theories: an “overcharge” theory and an “underpayment of interest” theory asked the Court to take judicial notice of historical Federal Funds Effective Rates.
THE LAW
Pleading Standard.
To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a ...
Alleged Defamatory Statements Must be Of and Concerning Plaintiffs
Posted on October 16, 2026 by Barry Zalma
To Prove Defamation the Statement Must be Of and Concerning the Plaintiffs
Post 4867
In Michael Moloney and Sergio Cantu v. United Services Automobile Association, No. 04-25-00519-CV, Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourth District, San Antonio (October 14, 2026) Michael Moloney and Sergio Cantu appealed from the trial court’s granting of a traditional motion for summary judgment in favor of United Services Automobile Association (“USAA”) on their defamation claim.
BACKGROUND
Moloney and Cantu sued USAA for defamation, alleging that they are the principals of Informed Roofing & Restoration, LLC (“Informed Roofing”), which is primarily engaged in the residential roofing repair and replacement business, and that an employee or agent of USAA had made false and defamatory statements to the San Antonio Police Department (“SAPD”) concerning them.
Specifically, Moloney and Cantu alleged that an employee of ...
