Kentucky trucking operator charged in alleged false insurance claim, loan application

The operator of a Kentucky trucking company filed a false insurance claim on a damaged trailer and later used a trailer he didn’t possess as collateral on a bank loan, a federal grand jury has charged.

The grand jury indicted Derrick Whitt Thursday on one charge of wire fraud and one charge of bank fraud.

Whitt and family members operated trucking companies under the names Silver Eagle Express LLC, Pure Gold LLC, and The Silverado Group, LLC, according to the indictment.

One of the company’s trailers was badly damaged in a fire while traveling through Woodford County in June 2018, but the company only had liability insurance on it so the policy didn’t cover the damage, the indictment says.

Whitt later filed a false claim saying another company trailer, covered by a more comprehensive policy, had been damaged in a fire, the indictment charges.

The insurance company paid Silver Eagle $42,162 for damage to the trailer, plus an additional amount not specified in the charge for lost cargo and towing fees, according to the indictment.

Whitt also filed a claim on another trailer he said was damaged with a driver accidentally turned it over, but the damage happened another way, the indictment says.

As to the alleged bank fraud, the grand jury charged that Whitt received a $26,756 loan in December 2019 based on an application listing a trailer as collateral.

However, that trailer was the one damaged in the June 2018 fire, and Whitt didn’t have it anymore when he applied for the loan, the indictment charges.

Whitt told the Herald-Leader that he did not file fraudulent insurance claims or a fraudulent loan application.

The companies and equipment at issue in the indictment belonged to his father, who died several months ago, Whitt said.

“Any of this was not my equipment,” he said.

Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.

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