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Five Star Insurance Company’s VP of Claims, Robert Dalton, reports the arrest of two insureds for insurance fraud.
Amid Kinapi, 34, of Los Angeles was arrested and charged with insurance fraud. Mr. Kinapi obtained different policies on the same vehicle from various insurance companies, and reported losses to each company with the same damage. Mr. Kinapi had multiple California drivers licenses issued to reflect his many aliases. A tip from a sharp and alert broker lead to the opening of an extensive investigation at Five Star along with their SIU manager Howard Schneider of World Wide Investigations.
The case was referred to the NICB and the DOI Fraud Division.
NICB agent Dave Dempsey assisted in the investigation along with detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department who made the arrest. Kinapi was convicted of insurance fraud and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Additionally, Dalton reports the arrest of Serge Mezheritsky, 29, of Los Angeles, who was recently arrested for insurance fraud, possession of counterfeit VINs and additional criminal offenses. Mezheritsky, who reported his 1989 BMW 750-I as stolen, was charged with committing fraud after detectives executed a search warrant at his business and located parts of the alleged stolen vehicle on the premises along with counterfeit VINs.
Mezheritsky has also been linked in a larger insurance fraud ring involving stolen rental vehicles. According to the NICB and law enforcement authorities, Mezheritsky has ties to the Russian mafia. He recently pleaded no contest and is awaiting sentencing.
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One, two, three claims … y’er out! Parviz Gharemani got to first base with a fake slip and fall against his employer, APSI Chevron—CIGNA paid benefits of over $50,000. He advanced to second base with a workers’ compensation claim against Round Table Pizza, for which he received $11,800. Third base was provided by Cal Comp ($34,800) when the claimant alleged inhalation of noxious gases. Home plate, however, was the Orange County jail. District Attorney Michael Capizzi hit the runner with six felony charges and a six-figure restitution. Hooray for the home team!
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And speaking of the OC DA—they nabbed Michael Tito on five counts of workers’ compensation fraud, three counts of insurance fraud and one count of perjury.
Tito collected benefits for three years for a left-knee injury he claimed happened in an unwitnessed fall at work. But witnesses testified the injury actually occurred the day prior while Tito was playing racquetball with his sister and a friend. He faces up to five years in state prison and may be ordered to repay American International Adjustment Company restitution in the amount of $85,000.
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Then there’s the Riverside District Attorney’s office—that recently arrested four area residents and charged them with felony insurance fraud.
Jorj Laloyan, his wife, Lusin, their son Andy, and Hagob Benjarjian allegedly participated in the scheme to defraud Mercury Insurance Company. It is alleged that Benjarjian, the owner of a body shop, talked his customer Marie Chaptini into buying a car from his lot, then staging an accident where-in she hit the Laloyan vehicle. Each defendant faces two felony charges for staging the accident and for filing a false claim.
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Zenith caught three more. The first, Stephen J. Arias, claimed he fell and injured his back at work. The red flags of an unwitnessed accident and a pending lay-off prompted an investigation. Surveillance left no doubt that the claimant’s statement contained numerous misrepresentations. Results? Jail, probation and restitution. And claimant number two, Terry Lee Boyle of Sacramento, got mad and punched his truck—then reported the broken finger as an injury sustained on the job. An arrest warrant was issued for making a false statement to obtain compensation. Allan Weissman was number three. Weissman claimed a work-related back injury and said he needed a cane to walk, yet he managed an interim job as a bouncer in a bar just fine. Unfortunately for him, one of the bar customers (while on vacation) just happened to be his claims adjuster. Bad luck, Allan!
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