Insurance Fraud

Insurance fraud occurs when someone knowingly and unlawfully attempts to falsify information in order to obtain a settlement through an insurance policy.

Common Fraud Schemes Include the following:

• Health Insurance Fraud where false claims occur right through to government types of insurance fraud through Medicare and Medicaid programs.
• Falsifying Death Certificates in order to falsely cash in on life insurance policies.
• Automobile insurance fraud can include everything from arson of motor vehicles through to staged accidents or other false insurance claims against automobile policies.
• Defrauding a home insurance company for a fradulent property damage claim. You would need to retain a Criminal Defense Attorney to help with Home Insurance Fraud Charges.

All of the aforementioned actions violate insurance fraud law, and in turn, will return criminal charges following an insurance fraud investigation, which can lead to criminal convictions and insurance fraud sentencing penalties under applicable federal or state criminal codes.

Insurance Fraud Penalties

Insurance fraud accounts for billions of dollars in lost taxpayer dollars and results in increasingly high insurance rates for everyone. The penalties for insurance fraud charges are significant and are typically stepped to reflect the seriousness of the fraudulent claim as well as the number of claims made in the particular charge. Each different insurance fraud will be treated as a separate count or charge, so rings that have operated several scams often have hefty penalties even on a first arrest.

Possible Penalties

• Jail time
• Significant fines
• Probation
• Parole
• Restitution
• Community service

Insurance Sentencing

The cost to the society as a whole has made sentencing for insurance fraud cases very harsh, even for first offenders. Typically a judge or court will order very high fines and restitution as well as some jail time in most situations. An attorney is essential to work with the courts to attempt to lower your fines and jail time, or to even have the court consider alternative sentencing if there were mitigating circumstances.

Hiring An Attorney For Insurance Fraud

There are some situations that may result in dropped or decreased charges for insurance fraud, especially if you were unaware of the fraudulent activity of another party in the scam. Working with an attorney that will represent your interests in court and attempt to get the charges decreased or minimized to a misdemeanor is important. Insurance fraud charges will have a very negative impact on your life and may make it almost impossible for your to find insurance or gainful employment after the sentence is completed.

• If you have been charged with Insurance Fraud, Submit Your Case for a Free Review from a skilled Criminal Defense Attorney.