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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June 05, 2026
Insurer Sued Defendants for Submitting Thousands of Fraudulent Claims

Attempt at Intervention Fails

Post number 5366

GEICO Requires Commendation and Emulation for its Action Against Fraud Perpetrators

Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/insurer-sued-defendants-submitting-thousands-claims-zalma-esq-cfe-k4mdc and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5350 posts.

In Government Employees Insurance Co., et. al. v. Tarakchyan D.C., et al., Civil No. 24-cv-6952 (ZNQ)(JTQ), United States District Court, D. New Jersey (May 29, 2026) GEICO sued medical-provider defendants for allegedly submitting thousands of fraudulent insurance charges for unnecessary treatment.

FACTS:

Air Wolf, a non-party defendant in a separate New York auto-accident case involving one of the same claimants, moved to intervene in order to access discovery and settlement materials and oppose confidentiality restrictions.

ISSUE:

Whether Air Wolf was entitled to intervene in GEICO’s federal fraud action under Rule 24, either as of right or permissively.

LEGAL STANDARD

Intervention is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24, which outlines the requirements for intervention as of right and permissive intervention. This decision addresses the legal standards for both forms of intervention.

Under Rule 24(a), intervention as of right requires a timely motion, a direct and legally protectable interest in the action, impairment of that interest, and inadequate representation by existing parties.

Under Rule 24(b), permissive intervention requires a common question of law or fact and must not unduly delay or prejudice the existing parties. Rule 24(c) also requires the movant to attach a pleading stating the claim or defense for intervention.

HOLDING:

The court denied Air Wolf’s motion to intervene.

REASONING:

First, the motion was procedurally defective because Air Wolf failed to attach the required pleading under Rule 24(c). Second, Air Wolf lacked a sufficiently direct legal interest: its claims that a settlement might imply liability or create inconsistent results in the state case were speculative and unsupported.

Third, permissive intervention was inappropriate because the overlap between the federal fraud case and the state negligence case was minimal, and Air Wolf’s broad request for access to confidential litigation materials would disrupt and prejudice the parties.

DISPOSITION:

The Motion to Intervene was denied.

ZALMA OPINION

It is important that an insurer, proactively, works to defeat fraud by suing the perpetrators. The information gained from such a lawsuit avoids HIPPA limitations and privacy claims that would help a bodily injury lawsuit. Air Wolf tried to get that information to help its bodily injury lawsuit. GEICO requires commendation and emulation for its action against fraud perpetrators and the court appropriately kept Air Wolf from intervening.

(c) 2026 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.

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Videos
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July 22, 2026
The Real Cost of Fraud

The Largest Residential Burglary of All Time
Post 5407

Fraud & the Fear of Bad Faith Suits
Posted on July 22, 2026 by Barry Zalma

See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gWQQEySW and at https://lnkd.in/gyhdK6wv

This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help 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.

This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help 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.

After ...

00:12:33
July 20, 2026
Search Warrant Produces Evidence of Insurance Fraud

Chutzpah is not Enough
Post 5397

Posted on July 20, 2026 by Barry Zalma

See the video and at https://lnkd.in/gNUs2XzT and at https://lnkd.in/g2MawyzX

Magistrate Issues a Search Warrant if there is a Fair Probability that Contraband or Evidence of a Crime will be Found in a Particular Place.

In United States Of America v. Frank Suess, et al., CRIMINAL No. 3:24-308, United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania (July 16, 2026) a federal grand jury indicted Frank Suess, Melissa Driscoll, and others in a 55-count health care fraud and anti-kickback prosecution arising from an alleged scheme involving medically unnecessary prescription “foot baths.”

As part of the investigation, the FBI obtained an August 19, 2022 warrant to search Driscoll’s Sterling Pharmacy Yahoo email account for emails from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020. Driscoll moved to suppress the resulting evidence, arguing that the warrant lacked probable cause, was overbroad, and rested on material misstatements and omissions.

LAW:

The ...

00:08:22
July 17, 2026
The Great Jewel Theft

Fraud Shouldn’t Pay

Post 5396

See the video and at https://rumble.com/v7ctgmq-the-great-jewel-theft.html at https://youtu.be/aRbQ2sJfGwA

This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help 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.

The Insured purchased, for the first time in his life, a policy of Personal Articles Floater Insurance (PAF) scheduling $125,000 worth of ladies jewelry. He advised the insurer that the jewelry was always kept in a class E safe at his residence. He also told the insurer that he was employed full time as the owner of a gasoline service station and that he had never been canceled or suffered a previous loss.

One month after the policy was ...

00:09:42
21 hours ago

Bad Faith Suit Fails After Insurer Declares Policy Void

Posted on August 14, 2026 by Barry Zalma

State Farm Must Try Breach of Contract Claim Only
Post 5424

Breach of Condition is Ground to Deny Claim and Void Policy

In Arutyun Darakchyan v. State Fann General Insurance Company et al., No. 2:25-cv-03880-CAS-AJRx, United States District Court, C.D. California (August 11, 2026) Plaintiff Arutyun Darakchyan sued State Farm General Insurance Company after State Farm denied his homeowners burglary claim for losses allegedly sustained at his Tarzana residence.

Plaintiff reported that burglars entered through a kitchen window while he and his family were away, claimed stolen property totaling more than $83,000, and submitted proof-of-loss materials, inventory lists, photos, alarm records, phone records, and later appeared for an examination under oath.

State Farm assigned the claim to its special investigative unit, questioned the timing and duration of the reported burglary, requested additional documents and records, ...

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August 13, 2026
The Exhaustion Of Underlying Insurance Is Not Necessary For An Actual Controversy To Exist Regarding Coverage Under An Excess Insurance Policy

Declaratory Relief Was Neither Unnecessary Nor Improper Under The Circumstances

Post 5423

Posted on August 13, 2026 by Barry Zalma

In Fox Paine & Company, LLC, et al. v. Twin City Fire Insurance Company et al., S287404, Supreme Court of California (July 27, 2026) Fox Paine & Company, LLC, Saul Fox, and related entities sued excess insurers after a long-running dispute between the Fox and Paine factions generated substantial litigation costs.

FACTS

The issue arises here after a dispute between former colleagues at an investment firm led to lengthy — and expensive — litigation.

Insurance is sometimes procured in a series of layers, with an insured acquiring a primary insurance policy that provides an initial layer of coverage. The insurance tower included a $10 million primary policy followed by four $10 million excess layers.

Plaintiffs allege that:

1. they suffered a loss;
2. the loss is covered by specific policy provisions described in the complaint;
3. they submitted "virtually all of their invoices" to defendants, ...

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August 12, 2026

Guilty of Misprison of a Felony Admitted by Owner of Insurers

Posted on August 12, 2026 by Barry Zalma

Second Trial of Coram Nobis Relief Fails

Post 5422

Coram Nobis is an Extraordinary Remedy

In United States Of America v. David Judd Disiere, Criminal Action No. 99-151-SDD-SDJ, United States District Court, M.D. Louisiana (August 10, 2026 David Judd Disiere was convicted in 2000 after pleading guilty to misprision of a felony under 18 U.S.C. § 4 in connection with allegations involving a scheme to influence the resolution of an investigation into insurance companies he owned.

He was sentenced to probation and a fine, did not directly appeal, and completed probation in 2003. After an earlier unsuccessful postconviction challenge, Disiere filed a second petition for writ of error coram nobis in 2024, claiming his plea was coerced by prosecutors’ threats relating to an employee allegation, that those threats were concealed from the court, that his counsel was ineffective, and that the factual basis did...

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