Two Assistant United States Attorneys receive national award

U.S. Attorney's Office

Southern District of Indiana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, January 19, 2018

Two Assistant United States Attorneys receive national award

Coalition Against Insurance Fraud awards Prosecutor of the Year citations to federal attorneys

PRESS RELEASE

Evansville-United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today a national award given to two Assistant United States Attorneys serving in the Evansville office for their work in prosecuting an elaborate insurance fraud scheme. Todd Shellenbarger the branch chief in the Evansville U.S. Attorney's Office and Kyle Sawa, prosecuted Michael Burris and 35 other defendants on fraud charges.

"I am proud of the work all of our AUSA's do on a daily basis," said Minkler, "but today, I am especially proud of Todd and Kyle for their exceptional work. The Burris family was the face of organized crime in the Evansville area and they put many public safety officials in harm's way through their criminal acts."

Between 2008 and 2014, Michael W. Burris and others, planned a series of automobile crashes in and around Evansville. They recruited persons to participate in staged vehicle crashes, made false police reports about the crashes and then filed false claims with insurance providers for "injuries" suffered in the crashes that were self-inflicted.

The Prosecutor of the Year Award is a national honor that recognizes exceptional courtroom achievements and best practices in combatting insurance crime. It is presented by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, a national alliance of consumer groups, insurance companies and government agencies combatting all forms of insurance fraud.

"Staged crashes literally drive up auto premiums for honest Indiana motorists," said Dennis Jay, Executive Director, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. "The Burris family was a factory line of fraud. It took exceptional courtroom skill by Todd Shellenbarger and Kyle Sawa to unravel their complex crash scheme and launch them on the exit ramp to prison."

Updated January 19, 2018