Insurance Fraud

Insurance fraud is an act done with an intent in obtaining a fraudulent result from insurance processes. It may take place when a claimant tries obtaining some perks which they are not entitled to, or knowingly an insurer denies the due benefit. Some of the common schemes here include workers compensation fraud, asset diversion, fee churning, and premium diversion. A Pittsburgh insurance fraud lawyer can assist defendants who have been charged with any of these offenses.

Broad Categorization

Insurance frauds are of two types, namely hard fraud and soft fraud.

• Hard fraud- a person deliberately tries to fake an accident, arson, theft, injury, accident, or other loss for illegally collecting money from an insurance company.
• Soft fraud- Honest people generally tell white lies to an insurance company. Most people think this is harmless fudging, yet the truth is soft fraud indeed is a crime which will raise people’s insurance costs.

You may deeply regret that one time you collected insurance payments that you were not allowed. Still, that insurance company will relentlessly hunt you down and prosecute you, even to sending you up for a federal indictment. This is why it is essential to consult an insurance fraud attorney in Pittsburgh promptly.

What is Federal Insurance Fraud?

Though there is no particular statute covering insurance fraud solely, the prosecutors in Pittsburgh will charge you, especially under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act along with statutes for wire and mail fraud.

In fact, it is illegal to:

• Purposely and knowingly provide an insurer with statements that are misleading or false in regards to a specific claim, with the intention of defrauding the insurance company.
• Knowingly and purposely provide an insurance company with documents that are misleading or contain false information with the intention of getting them to disapprove or approve motor vehicle insurance actions or rates.
• Purposely and knowingly conspire with someone else or help someone else by giving an insurance company false or misleading information with the intention of defrauding the insurance company.
• Presenting a false insurance claim using another person’s insurance identification card.
• Hiring someone to commit fraud against an insurer.

An example of insurance fraud is if a tree falls on your house and you claim you lost expensive items like art, jewelry, and electronics when you didn’t. If caught, you can be charged and convicted of insurance fraud.

The FBI will help in investigating any form of insurance fraud case which includes,

• Asset diversion- to steal the assets of an insurance company when companies are acquired or merged
• Fee churning- when different intermediaries gather commissions utilizing reinsurance agreements
• Premium diversion- to embezzle insurance premiums
• Fraud which includes disaster relief like filing inflated or false insurance claims post a hurricane

Along with being indicted for insurance fraud on federal charges, you will also at the same time face civil action via the insurance company.

Insurance fraud charges are often rated as third-degree felonies and come with high fines and long periods of incarceration.

Ways in Which a Pittsburgh Insurance Fraud Attorney Can Help

Once charged with an insurance fraud you will automatically face a determined federal prosecutor and inflexible laws. It is here where we at Logue Law Group can help. We have the best Pittsburgh criminal defense lawyers who will help you in determining all your choices and attaining the finest result for your case. Our Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney will help in representing those charged with insurance fraud and scams, enforce their rights under the different consumer protection laws, as well as fight to recover the losses. Insurance fraud is a serious crime due to the money being at stake. No matter if you or a loved one is accused of such a fraud, consider consulting our criminal lawyer to know more about the defenses, rights and what to expect at the time of handling the legal system.

For an initial consultation, at no cost to you, to discuss any fraud charges with an experienced insurance fraud lawyer in the Pittsburgh area, contact us online or call (412) 612-2210.