The Pennsylvania Attorney General Office’s Insurance Fraud Section conducted an insurance fraud sweep through the months of June and July that proved to be fruitful, as 29 Pennsylvania residents are now facing criminal insurance fraud charges. According to Attorney General Josh Shapiro, $160,000 in total fraud was discovered.
Here are the individuals charged, broken up by region:
Central Pennsylvania:
28-year-old Andrew Cooke of Harford, CT received approximately $3,000 in disability benefits from Vision Quest, all while working and collecting wages from Chambersburg Middle School. Cooke fraudulently stated that he was not employed at any time while receiving workers’ compensation benefits on a Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry form. He has been formally charged with workers’ compensation fraud.
Also charged with insurance fraud in central Pennsylvania are:
Tabatha Zerbe, 44, of Mill Road, Fleetwood
Crystal Kline, 44, of S. 9th Street, Lebanon
LuAnn Hileman, 32, of S. 2nd Street, Steelton
Monica Canny, 34, of Helvetia Street, Wellsboro
Western Pennsylvania:
56-year-old James Nayock of Saltsburg, PA filed an insurance claim stating that he had fallen from the bed of a stranger’s pickup truck and sustained serious injuries, to include a broken leg. However, the investigation discovered that Nayock was actually involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle accident after leaving a bar and inaccurately reported the incident to the insurance company. This was the largest-valued case in the sweep, totaling $30,000. Nayock has been charged with insurance fraud and theft by deception.
The following defendants in Western Pennsylvania have also been charged:
Crystal Robb, 35, of Gallatin Avenue, Uniontown
Jordan Basel, 31, of Patterson Lane, Vernon (still at large)
Jason Rubin, 35, of Main Street, Canonsburg
Jon Murman, 52, of Pierson Run Road, Pittsburgh
Danielle Desch, 28, of Baney Road, Julian
Jason Desch, 30, of Baney Road, Julian
Blane Johnson, 39, of Bull Run Road, Brownsville
Jan Fisher, 59, of Hansen Avenue, Lyndora
Amy Allaman, 37, W. Jefferson Street, Butler
Jocelyn Bayus, 21, of Lincoln Street, Cokeburg
Tina Yeast, 21, of Lake Street, Springboro
Christopher Yohe, 27, of Harrisburg Run, Bradford
Eastern Pennsylvania:
43-year-old Quran Howard of Philadelphia, PA and 38-year-old Nihessah Almond of Wilmington, DE have been charged with insurance fraud, theft by deception, and conspiracy after they were busted in a fraudulent personal property claim. Howard filed an insurance claim to compensate for $14,000 worth of personal property, including a Celine handbag worth $3,600, that had been “stolen” from her home in March 2016. Howard claimed that she purchased the handbag from the King of Prussia Neiman Marcus while out shopping with Almond.
When Almond was questioned, she told investigators that she had purchased the handbag on Howard’s behalf, and accepted cash as repayment from Howard. Howard, sales records from the KOP Neiman Marcus proved that the handbag was not purchased by Howard or Almond. It had been purchased by another woman, and the receipt from the purchase was fraudulently submitted to Howard’s insurance company without the other woman’s knowledge.
Also charged with insurance fraud in Philadelphia and the Eastern region are:
Patricia Barksdale, 61, of W. Stella Street, Philadelphia
Nelson Burgos-Matos, 28, of N. 6th Street, Philadelphia
Simone Evanson, 25, of Willows Avenue, Philadelphia
Brenda Lakey, 57, of Chestnut Street, Pomeroy
David Clark, 38, of Willow Drive, Levittown
Brittany Hooper, 21, Powelton Avenue, Philadelphia
Jerrel Giles, 28, of Washington Avenue, Willow Grove
Stacey Haberberger, 36, of Lindbergh Boulvard, Philadelphia
Majid Narimanian, 46, of Greenshire Avenue, Claymont, DE
According to the Fox 43 article, “So far this year, the Office of Attorney General has charged 109 people with insurance fraud, and Pennsylvania courts have ordered more than $655,000 in restitution.”
Keep up the good work, PA!