RALEIGH— North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced that Meranda Gail Whitley, 45, of 3612 Libby Lane, Midland, was charged with insurance fraud and obtaining property by false pretense, both felonies. Special agents with N.C. Department of Insurance Criminal Investigations Division accuse Whitley of obtaining payment from her…

Oct. 10— SELINSGROVE— State police at Selinsgrove are investigating a report that a 26- year-old Port Trevorton man was scammed out of about $23,000 in a fraudulent Bitcoin investment deal. The unidentified victim reported the scam took place on Instagram between June 1 and Oct. 8 and he used a cash app and bitcoin to pay the alleged scammers about $23,000.

JB Pritzker announced a plan Tuesday to reduce a $1.8 billion Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund deficit by $450 million through an infusion of unemployment-related revenues. The "deficit" figure represents money Illinois must repay to the federal government. "Thanks to Illinois' economic recovery, the Illinois Department of Employment Security has…

The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Gerard M. Karam, issued the following release:. According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that between March 21, 2020, and December 30, 2020, Taylor made materially false and fraudulent pretenses to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and the Employment…

RICHMOND, Va.– A Richmond- area real estate agent, investor and house flipper has been sentenced to nearly three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding the federal government and eight banks out of more than $1 million in COVID relief funds. Moe Mathews, co-owner and manager of Rockville- based brokerage Fresh Start Team and other businesses…

Robert Goforth, 46, was ordered to serve 25 months in federal prison, as well as to pay $2.7 million in restitution and $100,000 in fines. Prior information in the case states that Goforth's Manchester pharmacy was making larger profits than other pharmacies he owned— that being that unclaimed prescriptions were being billed to insurance companies but being…

John Donovan Sr., 80, of Hamilton, is still awaiting a decision from Salem Superior Court Judge Salim Tabit on his request to shave time off that two-year prison term imposed in the fraud case, following his conviction last May. A Salem Superior Court jury found in that criminal trial that Donovan had orchestrated the creation and filing more than two dozen forged…

Oct. 4— A Mississippi woman who worked as an insurance adjuster has been charged with stealing more than $28,000 and the identities of four victims of the 2018 Merrimack Valley gas explosions, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday. Lashaunda Studaway, of Jackson, was arraigned Thursday in Salem Superior Court on four counts of identity fraud and two…

TYNGSBORO— The former Tyngsboro police officer accused of illegally manufacturing and selling assault weapons, while conspiring to defraud local banks of over $9 million in loans for a shooting range admitted guilt in federal court on Thursday. Daniel Whitman, 37, of Salisbury, who resigned from his position with the Tyngsboro Police Department at the end of…

TEMECULA, CALIF.— New coins depicting King Charles III are expected to be popular with the public and collectors when the Royal Mint strikes and distributes them, according to the Professional Numismatists Guild. When an important new coin design is introduced, many people enjoy collecting examples from the first year of issue, such as the 1953 Royal Mint coins…

Earlier this week, Sherry McCormick, a congressional aide for Alabama Congressman Barry Moore, was indicted on insurance fraud charges. McCormick serves as Moore's Director of Special Constitute Services and Events and works in his Dothan office. McCormick currently resides in Geneva and is a graduate of Troy University.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.— A Tennessee man has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $680,000 after he used COVID-19 relief funds to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies while serving as the elected County Executive for Rhea County. George Thacker, 59, pleaded guilty to wire fraud as a part of a plea agreement, according to a release from the United State…

RICHMOND, Va.– The Virginia Employment Commission is investigating another batch of suspected unemployment fraud as a daunting backlog continues to cause long waits for victims. When Governor Glenn Youngkin's administration took over in January 2022, VEC Commissioner Carrie Roth said 258,320 paid and unpaid claims were under investigation for potential…

State Auditor Shad White said Konupka was indicted Monday for embezzlement by a local grand jury. Konupka also purportedly used the card at casinos and restaurants near Tunica. "Whether it's the largest public fraud in the state or an employee using a government purchasing card to buy a few thousand dollars' worth of items for themselves, we will hold the line on…

An Allen man has been found guilty of multiple federal violations related to a fraud scheme that included the murder of a Carrollton man, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston on Thursday, October 6. Keith Todd Ashley, 50, was found guilty by a jury of wire fraud, mail fraud, carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and bank…

Tactics used by scammers have shifted drastically during the past several years, with scams being perpetrated online rising 87% since 2015, according to a new report published by the Better Business Bureau. and 2022, and 2) survey research conducted in July 2022. "The methods scammers use to target consumers have shifted significantly since BBB began…

NFL legend Brett Favre, who has become a central figure in ongoing coverage of the Mississippi welfare scandal, has hired former Trump White House attorney Eric Herschmann as his lead counsel, Axios first reported on Monday. Text messages first reported by Mississippi Today this year show Favre communicated regularly and directly with welfare officials…

A rancher in eastern Washington has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after bilking two companies out of $244 million over several years in a "ghost cattle" scheme, according to court documents. Cody Allen Easterday, of Mesa, Wash., was convicted of defrauding multinational food producer Tyson Foods as well as a second unnamed company, the Justice…

LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa.— The Pennsylvania attorney general's office has announced charges against more than a dozen businesses and individuals in a car "title washing" scheme. The businesses include a title company, garages, and used car dealers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Carbon, and Monroe Counties. The D.A. says the discovery of these crimes started at George's…