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 retired, and will forever be my first client and a good friend.
Since January 2, 1972, I practiced law in California. To those of you, in addition to Alan, who have honored me by retaining me as your lawyer, thank you for a long, productive and successful legal career. Since 2015 and into the near future I limit my work to acting as an insurance claims handling, insurance fraud and insurance bad faith consultant, expert witness, educator and author. That work continues to keep me busy at least 40 hours a week.
I Am Not Retired.
I continue to work five days a week. I am only slowing from my time as a lawyer by limiting my work to consulting and testifying as an expert. I am now 84 years old, my license to practice law is inactive and I no longer practice law.
I expect to continue working, using my 58 years’ experience in the insurance claims industry, forever, or at least, until I reach the century mark my mother reached before she passed away.
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
There is Now a Zalma Who Understands Workers’ Compensation and Received the Theo Award
RISK & INSURANCE Magazine 2026 Theo Award Winner: Fox Corporation
Links about the Theo Awards: Sept.com/Oct. 2026 Issue | Theo Award | Workers’ Comp | Workers’ Comp Forum
Stephanie Evans-Zalma (my daughter-in-law) joined Fox Corporation’s Risk Management team in January 2024. Within her first year, she was focused on something that might seem unglamorous but turned out to be foundational: relationships.
“When I started at FOX, there was an opportunity to improve on how the workers’ comp department was servicing its internal and external stakeholders,” she says. “I focused on building relationships, understanding other groups’ pain points, and opening honest dialogue with our TPA, EHS, HR, and Legal teams. My goal was for workers’ comp to be seen as an extension of those groups — not a roadblock.”
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
Insurers Join Request for Insurance Companies to Push TPLF Disclosure
Third Party Litigation Funding Needs to be Disclosed
Insurance executive and their counsel joined in with those from more than 200 corporations that submitted a letter to a federal court rules committee urging the development of a third-party litigation funding (TPLF) disclosure requirement.
Convicted on 29 Tax-Refund-Fraud Counts
150 Months in Prison for Tax Fraud
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.
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
Health Insurance Fraud Convictions
Florida Men Sentenced to Prison for $34.8M Health Care Fraud Scheme Targeting Medicare Beneficiaries
Kenneth Charles Kessler III, 43, of Miami, Florida, and Michael Andrew Gomez, 43, of Miramar, Florida, owned and operated seven durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies based in Florida. Through these DME companies, they submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary orthotic braces.
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
Glencore Faces $2 Billion Suit as It Alleges Radiant World Fraud
Glencore PLC accused Radiant World and associated companies of sending falsified invoices to lenders — just as a senior executive at the group of traders said they had filed a $2 billion lawsuit against Glencore.
The claims mark the explosive end of a business relationship that for many years was extremely close.
On September 15, 2026 Glencore said that it had ended all business with Radiant World and associated companies including Sapphire Minmetals, and “exited all obligations.”
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
Other Than Health Insurance Fraud Cases
Illinois Woman Sentenced to Prison for Role in Wire Fraud Conspiracy
Defendant Sought More than $4.6M in Fraudulent Refunds from IRS
An Illinois woman was sentenced this week to 27 months in prison for her role in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain tax refunds by submitting false tax returns and fictitious financial instruments to the IRS.
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
‘Most Successful’ Hole-in-One Prize Insurance Operator Pleads Guilty to Fraud
Kevin Kolenda of Norwalk, Connecticut this week pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal district court. Kolenda’s jury trial was set to begin on September 23. The federal charges against him were brought in April 2024.
The owner and operator of an unlicensed prize insurance company who for years avoided paying claims, ignored cease and desist orders, and has been convicted of illegal sales and theft has pleaded guilty to fraud.
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
McClenny Moseley & Associates
This is ZIFL’s latest installment of the saga of McClenny, Moseley & Associates and its problems with the federal courts in the State of Louisiana and what appears to be an effort to profit from what some Magistrate and District judges indicate may be criminal conduct to profit from insurance claims relating to hurricane damage to the public of the state of Louisiana. Although suspicion has existed for years and a long silent FBI investigation has been anticipated, this truly never-ending story is coming to a head with criminal charges being filed against suspended lawyer Richard William Huye III.
Hurricane Ida Fraud Case Moves Closer To First Guilty Plea
A Rearraignment Hearing Signals Richard Huye May Cooperate With Prosecutors Pursuing Others At The Firm
The first defendant charged in the Hurricane Ida insurance fraud case built around McClenny Moseley and Associates (MMA) is headed toward a guilty plea, the Guardian reported, citing federal court records in New Orleans.
Richard William Huye III, 34, is scheduled to appear at a rearraignment hearing on September 28 in New Orleans’s federal courthouse. Rearraignments are typically held when a defendant agrees to abandon a not-guilty plea as part of a deal with prosecutors rather than proceed to trial. A separate arraignment hearing is scheduled 90 minutes earlier the same day.
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
No Good Judicial Deed Goes Unpunished
Kindness in Sentencing is Often Abused and Probation Becomes Jail
In State Of North Carolina v. Tia Allen, No. COA24-1010, Court of Appeals of North Carolina (September 16, 2026) Tia M. Allen pleaded guilty on 18 April 2022 to several offenses under a plea agreement. The trial court consolidated the convictions, imposed an 11-to-23-month sentence,
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
Barry Zalma, Inc., 4441 Sepulveda Boulevard, CULVER CITY CA 90230-4847, 310-390-4455.
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ZIFL-10-01-2026.pdf
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 ...
Sovereign Immunity Defeats Suit Against Police Officers
Post 4866
Posted on October 21, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Chad Lightfoot, et al. v. Progressive Direct Insurance Company, et al., Civil Action No. 26-434, United States District Court, E.D. Louisiana (October 9, 2026) Chad Lightfoot was involved in an Orleans Parish automobile accident in 2011 and filed claims with several insurers, including Progressive.
After a related civil dispute, Progressive counsel allegedly submitted a false affidavit stating that Lightfoot had fraudulently received a $50,000 payment. A New Orleans police detective relied on the affidavit to obtain an arrest warrant, and Louisiana State Police Lieutenant Alan Arcana allegedly reported that Lightfoot had received the payment. Lightfoot was arrested in 2015 and charged with theft, insurance fraud, and perjury.
Plaintiffs alleged that no record of the payment existed and that the criminal charges were dismissed on October 15, 2024.
Lightfoot and Geralyn Hawkins filed suit in October 2025 and ...
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 ...
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 ...
