Mother-Daughter Team Arrested in $1.4 Million California Fraud Case

Copyright 2010 A.M. Best Company, Inc.All Rights Reserved BestWire

February 8, 2010 Monday 04:34 PM EST

304 words

Mother-Daughter Team Arrested in $1.4 Million California Fraud Case

Sean P Carr

LOS ANGELES

California insurance regulators charged a mother-daughter team and two men with multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and grand theft totaling more than $1.4 million.

Department of Insurance detectives arrested Michael R. Persky and his girlfriend, Shelley L. Dunkel; Dunkel's mother, Carol A. Dunkel; and Freddy Buraye Jr. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case.

According to the department, the arrests stemmed from an investigation that began with a March 2008 suspected fraudulent claim for the alleged theft of Persky's mobile home. Persky's insurance carrier, National Interstate Insurance Co., settled the claim for $80,000, but the department received information that he still had the home. Detectives seized the vehicle in February 2009.

The investigation led detectives to other suspected fraudulent claims involving the four. Various claims included the alleged theft of furniture, bath fixtures, artwork and other personal property. Both Dunkels filed claims with their respective insurance carriers for an alleged Oct. 26, 2008 burglary at a Lancaster home owned by Carol Dunkel. Each claimed approximately $600,000 in personal property was stolen. According to the insurance department, each Dunkel claimed exactly the same items -- some of which later turned up at Persky's home during the February 2009 search and seizure.

National Interstate Insurance Co., Stonington Insurance Co., State Farm Insurance Co., and Farmers Insurance Co. assisted the department in the investigation. Attempts to reach the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for comment were unsuccessful. They face three to five years in state prison, $50,000 in fines and full restitution to their insurance carriers if convicted.

(By Sean P. Carr, Washington Correspondent: [email protected])

February 9, 2010

Copyright © 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy