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The John Cooke Fraud Report will focus on a different state in each issue and attempt to provide a glimpse of some of the happenings in that state’s fraud arena. In our first issue we take you to Nevada.
Nevada is a mandatory reporting state. Thus, any company transacting business in the state of Nevada is mandated by statute to report all cases of suspected fraud. According to the Nevada Attorney General’s office, an average of 20 fraud referrals are received per month.
“We suspect that Nevada’s fraud reporting mandate is not widely known by insurance claims personnel,” said R. M. Keefe, Supervisory Investigator of the Nevada Office of the Attorney General, “because organized fraud ring activity is definitely on the increase here and our referral count is not reflective of that fact.”
Keefe also said that there are approximately 200 open investigations at this time, many of which started because of a single referral and then mushroomed into major investigations involving multiple players. It is apparent that staged automobile accident rings are migrating from California to other cities and Las Vegas has become a prime target.
Cappers find recruiting an easy task, often making contact with potential accident players in the casino sports books. In most cases, the capper will go to the sports book, sometimes on a daily basis, and strike up a conversation with another bettor. After a number of days involving many encounters, the capper will suggest an easy way to make some money to his new “friend” Joe. And if Joe is an addictive bettor and on a losing streak (the capper has been watching Joe over many days and knows a lot about him before the actual involvement), he becomes a fertile target. Some easy money sounds very tempting at just such a time.
Claims personnel may obtain a supply of reporting forms from the Commissioner of Insurance, State of Nevada, 2501 E. Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89104
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