Prichard city councilman insurance fraud arrest surrounds BMW

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — District 3 Prichard City Councilman Derrick Griffin was indicted by a Mobile County Grand Jury Tuesday alleging that he misrepresented information when filling out an insurance form for a car he drove six years ago.

"I want to be clear that, you know, this has nothing to do with his public office," Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said during a press conference. "He is a public official that has been charged with a crime."

Griffin faces two counts of insurance fraud, and according to his indictment, Griffin allegedly made two inaccurate statements to an insurance company on a BMW that he drove back in 2018. The indictment also alleges that he financially benefitted in a sum more than $1,000.

Blackwood said the investigation is too early to elaborate on specific details.

"That will come out in open court," he explained. "That's going to get down into the details of the case. But there is another person named in the indictment, and we do believe that they knew each other."

Griffin's defense attorney, Marcus Foxx, said the sole basis of the claim surrounds information on an application.

"The indictment has nothing to do with any significant claim that was filed that he received a large amount of," Foxx said. "None of that. There's no theft involved here. The indictment specifically states they dispute factual information in the insurance car application."

Foxx explained that he received the indictment, so he said he is still trying to make sense of the allegations. However, he said that Griffin did rightfully own the BMW in question, but it's no longer in his possession.

"They dispute information that was contained in a car insurance application," Foxx explained. "That is the crux of these charges. And furthermore, this application was for a vehicle that Mr. Griffin was involved in somewhere around 2018. So this is a pretty remote claim."

Blackwood also stated that Griffin has two addresses, one in Prichard, and another outside of city limits.

Blackwood stated that Griffin placed an address outside of Prichard on the insurance forms. If Griffin is found residing outside of the jurisdiction that he's elected to represent, it could lead him to more legal issues.

"It's certainly an allegation of fraudulent representation," Blackwood said.

If convicted, Griffin could face 2 to 20 years in prison as insurance fraud is a Class B felony. Blackwood said this is part of a much larger investigation surrounding insurance fraud, so he anticipates more arrests.

"This is developing. It's ongoing, and I would say stay tuned," he said.