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LICFE June 2000 |
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LICFE June 2000 |
PLEASE VOTE All LICFE members are requested to vote for five (5) of the following Board positions. Please send your completed ballot by mail to the Chapter Office at 87 Bethpage Road, Hicksville, NY 11801, by fax to 516-931-0008; or by email to info@licfe.org (indicate “ballot” in the subject line.
FRAUD IN THE NEWS Insurance Agents Investigated in Alleged Scam Against Seniors A network of insurance agents is under investigation for allegedly taking more than $1 million from 200 Southern California senior citizens….as part of a scam involving promissory notes, an official with the [California] state attorney general’s office said Friday [October 6, 2000]. James Root, a deputy attorney general, declined to reveal the names of those under investigation but said they “were part of a common network” that asked seniors in at least five counties to invest in nine-month promissory notes through a variety of companies…. Agents cold-called seniors and asked to review their living trusts in order to see their assets. They then offered 10% to 15% interest returns on investments in companies over a nine-month period. Some seniors received a few interest payments but none received all interest promised or their principal investment back, Root said. New England International Surety, the insurance company that the agents promised would cover any losses, is based in Belgium and has not paid any seniors, he said. Most seniors invested their money in 1998 and 1999, Root said. Organizations investigating the alleged scam include the state Department of Insurance, the state Department of Corporations and the Kern County, Los Angeles County and Ventura County sheriff’s departments. The state attorney general’s office began coordinating the investigation about two months ago, Root said….. “This kind of crime is everywhere and on the rise,” [Simi Valley Police Sgt. Bob] Gardner said. “Con men have found over the years that there are some senior citizens that are a little more gullible and trusting. They just make better victims. It’s not true of all of them, but they’ve found that to be true of a lot of them.” In addition to investigating the agents, the state attorney general’s office is looking into the companies involved. At least some of them are known to be actual companies, Root said. “They had employees, business locations and were doing some form of business,” he said. Reprinted by Permission, LATimes.com
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW! LICFE
CHAPTER DINNER MEETING SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER Henry
I. DeGeneste SECURITIES
FRAUD "INSURANCE
FRAUD: SURVEILLANCE IS A KEY" RSVP by email to info@LICFE.org, or fax 516-931-0008, or make your check payable to LICFE and mail to the Chapter office at 87 Bethpage Road, Hicksville, NY 11801. Credit card payments may be faxed. Enclosed is my check for ______ reservations for _______ persons @ $35 each. Name:_______________________________________ Company:____________________________________ Address:_____________________________________ Name on Card:_________________________________ Type (circle one): AMEX VISA MASTERCARD Card No. __________________ Exp.: (mm/yr) ________ Signature:____________________________________2 CPE CREDITS NEW LAW IN NEW YORK STATE IMPACTS INVESTIGATORS New education requirements for insurance investigators in New York State went into effect on October 4, 2000. The new law, designated §409(b)(3) of the NY Insurance Law, applies to investigators employed by SIUs or investigative service providers under contract with an insurer. The law mandates specific degrees in criminal justice or a related field, experience in claims or law enforcement investigation, or professional experience in economic or insurance related matters. There is a grandfather clause for investigators employed by or contracted to an insurer prior to September 10, 1996. The full text of the new law appears below. (3) Persons employed by special investigations units as investigators or by an independent provider of investigative services under contract with an insurer shall be qualified by education or experience which shall include an Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice or related field, or five years of insurance claims investigation experience or professional investigation experience with law enforcement agencies, or seven years of professional investigation experience involving economic or insurance related matters. For the purposes of evaluation of medical related claims insurers may employ or retain duly licensed or authorized medical professionals. Notwithstanding these minimum requirements anyone employed as an investigator in a special investigation unit or by a provider of investigative services under contract to an insurer as of the effective date of this paragraph and who was also so employed on or before September tenth, nineteen hundred ninety-six may continue in such employment provided the insurer identifies such person in writing to the superintendent giving the date such employment began and a description of the person’s qualifications, employment history and current job duties.
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