Insurance Fraud Leads to Violent Crime
Post 4990
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gDdKMN29, see the full video at https://lnkd.in/gKKeHSQg and at https://lnkd.in/gvUU_a-8 and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4950 posts.
CRIMINAL CONDUCT NEVER GETS BETTER
In The People v. Dennis Lee Givens, B330497, California Court of Appeals, Second District, Eighth Division (February 3, 2025) Givens appealed to reverse his conviction for human trafficking and sought an order for a new trial.
FACTS
In September 2020, Givens matched with J.C. on the dating app “Tagged.” J.C., who was 20 years old at the time, had known Givens since childhood because their mothers were best friends. After matching, J.C. and Givens saw each other daily, and J.C. began working as a prostitute under Givens’s direction.
Givens set quotas for J.C., took her earnings, and threatened her when she failed to meet his demands. In February 2022, J.C. confided in her mother who then contacted the Los Angeles Police Department. The police arrested Givens after reviewing evidence on J.C.’s phone.
Givens was charged with one count of human trafficking, with additional allegations of aggravating factors due to his prior convictions. He pleaded not guilty, and the trial was initially set for October 2022 but was continued to February 2023. Just before the trial, Givens’s counsel discovered Cruz’s criminal history, which included convictions for aggravated robbery, welfare fraud, insurance fraud, and forgery.
During the trial, the court excluded three of Cruz’s four prior convictions, allowing only the 2009 forgery conviction as admissible. The trial lasted six days, and the jury returned a guilty verdict after two hours of deliberation. At sentencing, the court found the aggravating factors outweighed any mitigation and sentenced Givens to the upper term of 20 years for his human trafficking conviction.
THE APPEAL
The Court of Appeals concluded that the trial court properly exercised its discretion to conduct the trial and limit Cruz’s testimony to relevant matters. The appellate court found no errors and upheld the trial court’s decisions because the California Supreme Court’s recent decision in People v. Lynch (2024) 16 Cal.5th 730 (Lynch) forecloses his argument.
The relevant inquiry for the Court of Appeals was whether an appellate court can conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that a jury would have found true all of the aggravating facts relied upon by the trial court to justify an upper term sentence, or that those facts were otherwise proved true in compliance with the current statutory requirements.
ZALMA OPINION
I have had a court and prosecutors tell me that insurance companies can’t be victims of a crime, like fraud, so they are not prosecuted. Givins had was a career criminal who had been convicted of the crime of insurance fraud only to graduate to human trafficking and turning a young girl into a life of prostitution with Givins as her Pimp. If his prior conviction for insurance fraud had resulted in a long sentence JC would have grown up without experience as a prostitute. Prosecutors and courts must understand that insurance fraud is a serious crime and punish the perpetrators appropriately.
(c) 2025 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Commit Insurance Fraud While on Probation Violation Requires Jail
Post number 5322
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gfnYSb8a, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gEu8EzYq and at https://lnkd.in/gzrJdPfC and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Jail is Necessary When Probation is Violated
In United States of America v. Sabine Oltmann, No. 25-60578, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (April 9, 2026), Sabine Oltmann pleaded guilty to unauthorized opening of mail by a postal employee and was sentenced to two years’ probation.
Just two months into that term, however, she violated the conditions of her probation by submitting a false insurance claim and falsely reporting a crime. The district court revoked her probation and sentenced her to twelve months’ imprisonment followed by twelve months of supervised release.
Oltmann contended that this above-Guidelines revocation sentence is substantively unreasonable.
The USCA reviewes probation-revocation sentences under the ...
Commit Insurance Fraud While on Probation Violation Requires Jail
Post number 5322
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gfnYSb8a, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gEu8EzYq and at https://lnkd.in/gzrJdPfC and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Jail is Necessary When Probation is Violated
In United States of America v. Sabine Oltmann, No. 25-60578, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (April 9, 2026), Sabine Oltmann pleaded guilty to unauthorized opening of mail by a postal employee and was sentenced to two years’ probation.
Just two months into that term, however, she violated the conditions of her probation by submitting a false insurance claim and falsely reporting a crime. The district court revoked her probation and sentenced her to twelve months’ imprisonment followed by twelve months of supervised release.
Oltmann contended that this above-Guidelines revocation sentence is substantively unreasonable.
The USCA reviewes probation-revocation sentences under the ...
There is no Privity Between Adjuster & an Insured
A Claim Against an Insurer for Wrongful Conduct Cannot Be Maintained Against Its Adjuster
Post number 5321
See the video at https://lnkd.in/gH6wPd45 and at https://lnkd.in/gB-7JpHZ and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
In Lambert v. SafePort Insurance Company, et al., Civil Action No. 25-1446 (E.D. La. Apr. 2, 2026) (Morgan, J.) Plaintiff Lisa Lambert held a homeowner’s insurance policy issued by SafePort Insurance Company covering her property against windstorms and wind damage. After two separate windstorms damaged her home (the “First Wind Claim” and “Second Wind Claim”), she promptly reported both losses and attempted to mitigate damages.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
SageSure Insurance Managers LLC acted as the claims adjuster/manager for SafePort. In both instances:
A field adjuster inspected the property and denied coverage, attributing the damage to “foundation settling as a result of earth movement” (an excluded peril that allegedly caused water pooling on the ...
ZIFL – Volume 30, Issue 7 – April 1, 2026
THE SOURCE FOR THE INSURANCE FRAUD PROFESSIONAL
Post number 5314
Posted on April 1, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 30th 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/ This issue contains the following articles about insurance fraud:
No One is Above the Law – Not Even a Police Officer
Police Officer Convicted for Fraud in Reporting an Accident Affirmed
Police Officer Should never Lie about Results of Chase
In State Of Ohio v. Anthony Holmes, No. 115123, 2026-Ohio-736, Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga (March 5, 2026) a police officer appealed criminal conviction as a result of lies about a high speed chase.
Read the following article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ZIFL-04-01-2026-1.pdf...
ZIFL – Volume 30, Issue 7 – April 1, 2026
THE SOURCE FOR THE INSURANCE FRAUD PROFESSIONAL
Post number 5314
Posted on April 1, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 30th 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/ This issue contains the following articles about insurance fraud:
No One is Above the Law – Not Even a Police Officer
Police Officer Convicted for Fraud in Reporting an Accident Affirmed
Police Officer Should never Lie about Results of Chase
In State Of Ohio v. Anthony Holmes, No. 115123, 2026-Ohio-736, Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga (March 5, 2026) a police officer appealed criminal conviction as a result of lies about a high speed chase.
Read the following article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ZIFL-04-01-2026-1.pdf...
Posted on March 30, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Insurance Fraud, a Way to Reduce Violent Crime
Post number 5313
A Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story helps to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
She Taught Her Customers The Swoop And Squat:
Recently the California Insurance Department’s Fraud Division arrested a young woman in Los Angeles County for operating an insurance fraud school. She advertised her classes in the “Penny Saver” an advertising sheet distributed free to the public and a print version of Facebook, X Craig’s list. She had operated for several years teaching methods of committing automobile insurance fraud. Only after a police officer enrolled in one of her classes was she arrested.
Her defense ...
