In July 2009, I posted a blog about insurance fraud perpetrated by an abstractor in Kentucky - Cut & Paste Insurance Fraud.  The justice system may not be swift, but finally, just this month, I have received word that this abstractor was charged with insurance fraud and convicted after a guilty plea. 

If you don't remember the blog, the basic gist of it was that she forged a declarations page to provide proof of insurance to a potential client that required it.  In order to obtain a declarations page, she contacted another abstractor from a different state and pretended to be a client requesting proof of insurance.  The out-of-state abstractor send their declarations page, but didn't receive any orders.

Later, it became apparent that this Kentucky abstractor used the declarations page that she received by trickery to forge her own proof of coverage.  She cut and pasted her name onto the document and altered the policy number to further conceal her crime.

However, the client that she provided the document to became suspicious and decided to call the issuing agent to confirm the coverage.  The agent was able to track the real policy because it had only issued one policy that matched the coverage amount and expiration date - it had been issued to an abstractor in Illinois. 

Upon finding that this Kentucky abstractor had forged one its policies, the issuing agent contacted the Kentucky Department of Insurance.  The Kentucky DOI took the complaint seriously and investigated.

As a result of the investigation, she "was arrested on one (1) count of Fraudulent Insurance Acts over $500.  Subsequently, she entered a guilty plea to the amended charge of Fraudulent Insurance Acts under $500 and was sentenced to a fine of $1,000.00, with $500 suspended, and twelve (12) months in jail, probated for a period of twenty-four (24) months.  She was also ordered to pay court costs of $153.00."

This may seem like a fairly light sentence - after all, it is still less than it would have cost her to actually obtain E&O coverage - but now she has a criminal record.  This will follow her and could make it more difficult for her to find a job, or obtain a professional license. 

So, the moral of the story is... just do the right thing and get your own insurance.  The coverage is important; who knows when you might need it.  And, no matter how smart you think you are, there is always a paper trail that can be your undoing.