Latest news with #federalinvestigation
Fox News
4 days ago
- Fox News
REP MIKE COLLINS: Staged car crash fraud puts all of us at risk. Congress and the Justice Dept can stop it
Cornelius Garrison was murdered in New Orleans in 2020. He had been cooperating with federal authorities investigating a crash-for-cash insurance fraud scheme. For years, Garrison helped stage car crashes, directing participants to purposefully crash into trucks with the hopes of extracting a settlement from their companies. He would then funnel the passengers from these choreographed car wrecks to billboard attorney Vanessa Motta's law firm, who would then file knowingly fraudulent lawsuits. For agreeing to expose this crime network, Garrison lost his life. Nine defendants now face charges related to this particular staged automobile collision scheme, according to an indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice. So far, more than 63 individuals have been charged in a federal probe of staged car crashes in the New Orleans metro area. Unfortunately, these tactics are not isolated to New Orleans. They are occurring in cities across this country. Criminal networks across the United States are choreographing collisions with trucks, rideshare cars and private motorists, causing injuries, and eventually siphoning settlements that the rest of us ultimately fund. Congress can stop it. Earlier this month, I led a group of U.S. representatives in calling United States Attorney General Pam Bondi to create a federal task force to investigate and prosecute these rings, helping to shut them down. The Trump administration should launch it now. Today, motorists face choreographed threats when they drive on America's roads. It may look like two sedans boxing in an eighty-thousand-pound tractor-trailer. The lead car slams the brakes. Physics takes over. Moments later, the truck has "rear-ended" a vehicle whose drivers set the whole scheme in motion. They call a lawyer. Lawsuits are filed. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud says such scams help drain $308 billion annually from the U.S. economy, including $45 billion in property-and-casualty lines. Commercial vehicles, including truck drivers and rideshares, are easy targets to these criminal networks because the liability limits are high, and juries often blame the big trucks and commercial companies. Premiums for independent truckers have jumped nearly 50% in three years. In my home state of Georgia, 23% of every Uber ride goes directly into insurance costs. Fewer trucks on America's roads mean higher freight rates and thinner inventories. Every shopper pays the price. This fraud also corrodes the rule of law. Free markets can function only when real risk, not manufactured danger, sets the price of insurance. Honest drivers subsidize this deceit. The reach and breadth of this fraud is staggering. In New York, ground zero of the so-called "fraudemic," a surge of staged-accident lawsuits and collusion between plaintiff lawyers and medical providers triggered investigations that forced one billboard attorney firm to drop hundreds of bogus claims. Since 2014, there have been 63 investigations involving U-Haul-related fraud, resulting in 47 arrests, including 20 criminal cases opened in 2019 alone. A focused federal task force could put a stop to this. Stronger laws must also back the effort. I have introduced the "Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act." It would make causing a crash for a payday a specific federal crime with hard prison time. Fraud is already illegal, but current penalties were written for one-off crashes, not the exploding cottage industry of assembly-line scams, causing million-dollar payouts. The law should match the crime. This bill still ensures justice for those who have been harmed in an accident. Genuine victims would still get their day in court. What vanishes is the incentive to invent injuries or recruit passengers as props. This fraud also corrodes the rule of law. Free markets can function only when real risk, not manufactured danger, sets the price of insurance. Honest drivers subsidize this deceit. The reach and breadth of this fraud is staggering. Consumers would benefit first. Lower fraud losses mean lower premiums. Small trucking operators would stay in business. Rideshare passengers would see relief in the form of their total ride cost. Roads would grow safer. Support for broad reform is growing. The American Trucking Association, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, and rideshare companies like Uber have all called for quick action in launching a task force. These organizations are on the road every day and see it firsthand. The path forward is clear. The Department of Justice should launch the task force. Congress should pass the prevention act. Staged-accident fraud may not lead cable news segments nightly, but it drains wallets and endangers lives. Congress can — and should — end it.
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
CrowdStrike Cooperating With Federal Probes Into July Software Outage
CrowdStrike CRWD -5.21%decrease; red down pointing triangle said it is cooperating with federal authorities in connection with an incident last July, in which a bug in the company's software knocked millions of computers offline. The cybersecurity firm said the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have requested information related to the incident and other matters, according to a Wednesday filing with the SEC.
CBS News
26-05-2025
- CBS News
Detroit mail carrier accused of defrauding pandemic-era unemployment benefit programs
A Detroit man is facing federal charges of mail fraud and wire fraud related to fraudulent claims for pandemic-era unemployment benefits. According to a federal criminal complaint, Christopher Powell, a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier, admitted using addresses on his delivery route to receive unemployment insurance benefits. Officials say Powell did not live in that area. The activity in question occurred in Wayne County between July 2020 and April 2024. In April 2024, a supervisor at the Jefferson Station Post Office in Detroit became aware of Powell's use of the addresses and notified authorities. According to court documents, Powell told authorities he filed an unemployment claim in Michigan in 2020 while on "COVID Leave" from USPS. He claimed he had not received benefits from any other state; however, further investigation found that other unemployment insurance claims with his social security number and birthdate were filed in Arizona, California, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. After federal investigators showed him several pieces of mail addressed to him, Powell admitted to using vacant addresses on his route instead of his own address, court records show. One of the pieces of mail confiscated during this investigation was a bank statement for the period of Dec. 26, 2023, and Jan. 25, 2024, detailing more than $25,000 in funds taken out via ATM withdrawals or Cash App transfers. Financial institutions sent investigators footage of Powell in Detroit withdrawing money from an account associated with the benefit claim filed in California. Federal investigators discovered that between 2020 and 2021, Powell allegedly called the bank related to the California claim and disputed nearly all transactions and withdrawals in an attempt to get more money. The criminal complaint says that between July 2023 and August 2023, the bank deposited "dispute adjustment credits" back in the account for almost all withdrawals. Additionally, the Office of Inspector General found that 26 claims were filed using Powell's home address, seven of which were successful in Michigan and Arizona. About 42 claims were filed in 16 states using a variation of an email address.
Globe and Mail
22-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
UnitedHealth Crashed, and Insiders Bought $30M. Here's Why It Matters.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) stock recently collapsed to a 5-year low. The insurance giant is reportedly facing a criminal federal investigation. The CEO just stepped down unexpectedly. Plus, UnitedHealth suspended its full-year forecast. Naturally, Wall Street panicked. But right in the middle of this chaos… The incoming CEO and CFO bought $30 million worth of stock, almost squarely at the lows. And these top UNH insiders aren't the only ones — even politicians are buying. What do they know that we don't? We break it all down in this news reel: Want to track insider trades like this right as the filings hit? Insider Trading Activity often points to opportunity — especially when it comes from the C-suite. Start Your 30-Day Free Trial of Barchart Premier to get more data, access, and insights into all of your favorite stocks.
