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Dumb (and Deadly)

The 10 dumbest insurance fraud schemes of all time

Life Quotes, Inc., a life insurance resource center, with the help of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, compiled a list of the 10 dumbest insurance fraud schemes of all time.

Jim Quiggle, spokesperson for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, told Life Quotes that “[People are driven by] desperation, greed, and a lack of common sense; it depends who you are, how bad the economy is, and how much your finances are affected.” He added: “Among average consumers, mysterious disappearances and theft are the most popular schemes…it’s easy to say someone stole my camera, or I lost my watch at the beach. Fake health insurance plans are also very popular with the struggling economy because people are desperate to get health coverage, and organized criminals are doing a very effective job selling bogus health insurance plans.”

Here are its three dumbest insurance fraud schemes of all time (the full list can be found at www.planadviser.com/Dumb_and_Deadly_Insurance_Fraud_Schemes.aspx):

#3: Massachusetts-based Ronald and Mary Evano had a strange tradition before going to restaurants, bars, and grocers: glass-eating. For eight years, the duo filed more than $200,000 in fraudulent claims using fake IDs and Social Security cards. Often, the insurers and businesses paid out to avoid a lawsuit, but this was not without a physical price. The Evanos braved medical danger to pull off this scam, which included glass in their intestines and colon, vomiting blood, and having to pass glass fragments. Ronald was arrested and charged in 2006, and Mary, who spent years on the run pretending to be a psychic, was finally captured in early 2010.

#2: Michael Paul Schook was a Suffield, Connecticut-based ex-con with a lot of debt and a big mouth. Not only was his house in foreclosure, but his car was repossessed and he owed thousands on credit cards. Desperate for money, Schook decided to set his house on fire to get $250,000 by leaving a fat-filled pan on the stove as he left the house with his family. The house indeed burned down, but it was no surprise to anyone; turns out Schook had told everyone who would listen about his future plans to burn his own house down. His children told their classmates, who reported it to school officials and notified police. Schook received seven years in prison for his grease-fire debacle.

Finally, the dumbest insurance fraud scheme of all time, according to Life Quotes, Inc. is:

#1: Clayton Daniels was very familiar with breaking the law: After sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and deferring his 10-year sentence, he never reported to his probation officer. To avoid going back to jail, Clayton and his wife, Molly, dug up the grave of Charlotte Davis, an elderly woman who had been dead for almost a year. They dressed her in Clayton’s clothes, put her body in a car, lit it on fire, and pushed it off a cliff. They hoped the life insurance company would believe the burned body was Clayton and pay $110,000 in benefits.

However, the insurer would not pay out until a DNA test confirmed the body was indeed Clayton. Just weeks after the accident, Clayton came back with dyed hair and a moustache and was introduced as Molly’s new boyfriend, Jake Gregg. However, some things didn’t add up in the investigation: Molly was “eerily calm” in post-crash interviews; there were no signs of an accident at the crash location; investigators discovered the fire started in the driver’s seat of the car and not the fuel tank; and DNA did not match up.

The complex plan was also discovered in great detail on her computer, including Internet history of how to burn a human body beyond recognition and how to create a fake identity. The scheme landed Molly with 20 years for insurance fraud, and 10 years for hindering Clayton’s arrest. Clayton is awaiting trial on arson charges, and he will serve no less than 10 years for desecration of a cemetery and 15 years for arson.

“These people get caught for various reasons; maybe they get greedy and then sloppy, or they just didn’t plan very well to begin with,” said Quiggle. “However, some schemes are very well constructed, and insurance companies need to do very detailed investigations to uncover a well-concealed crime.”