The state has now reached an all time high, according to a report that was recently released.
Complaints have been rising in South Carolina with regards to insurance fraud, to the point that they are now reaching the highest point that they have ever been, with over 1,200 having been filed last year.
This, according to a report that was recently released by Attorney General Alan Wilson.
The Insurance Fraud Division of the office of the Attorney General put out an annual report that underscored the fact that attorneys had prosecuted cases that brought about the convictions of 37 people, and which brought about over $700,000 in payments that had been returned to the various individuals that had been victims of these scams. In this one report, there were a number of notorious cases that were cited.
The data from this report also seems to suggest that insurance fraud is becoming considerably worse in South Carolina.
One case in Darlington County saw three defendants that had been attempting to receive payment from their health insurance company. All of them submitted claims that stated that they had undergone an amputation of all four of their limbs. In reality, not one of them had experienced any amputations. They were caught and were sent to jail for a year and a half, each. Moreover, the insurer was to receive over $60,000 in restitution.
Within that same county, another case existed in which an insurance policy worth $100,000 was taken out using a stolen credit card, in order to cover a home that was neither owned nor lived in by the woman who purchased it. She then worked with another person with the intention of burning the building down. That scam was discovered and stopped before anything could happen, and the woman gave a guilty plea that led to a 5 year prison sentence.
Attorney General Wilson wrote in the report that “Insurance fraud continues to drain our system and raise premiums for our citizens. We must send the message that it is not tolerated in South Carolina.” Though the majority of these complaints are from the vehicle coverage sector, property, health, and other areas are also greatly represented in the statistics.
