Arrest - InsuranceFraud.org

A man who played a dancing hamster in Kia car commercials and was a backup dancer for Madonna has been charged with California disability fraud.

The California Department of Insurance says 27-year-old Leroy Barnes of Los Angeles collected $51,000 in workers compensation benefits in 2010 and 2011. Barnes claimed he was disabled when a piece of ceiling fell on him.

But the department says he made at least one Kia commercial, performed in a rap group, assisted in recording the song “Cat Daddy,” and was a backup dancer for Madonna, Kelly Rowland and Chris Brown.

Barnes was arrested last month and is free on bail. He couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

Insurance department spokeswoman Nancy Kincaid said she didn’t know if he had a lawyer.

A Los Angeles County-based vocational nurse was arrested last Friday on charges referred to as “white-collar crimes” by state prosecutors, after they say she stole more than $1.5 million from Medi-Cal.

Mariafe Concepcion Garcia, 58, was arrested by the California Attorney General’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud on May 1, after a felony warrant was issued for her arrest by a Los Angeles-based superior court judge on April 27.

Garcia was initially booked into custody at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s West Hollywood station the morning of May 1 before being transferred to the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood that evening.

According to a warrant request submitted by the attorney general’s office, Garcia is alleged to have obtained $1,513,062 from Medi-Cal under false pretenses. Prosecutors say she fraudulently billed the state’s low-cost health care system for hospice services between Dec. 1, 2020 and March 31, 2024.

Additionally, prosecutors believe Garcia was the ring leader of this alleged insurance fraud scheme, as the state’s warrant request alludes Garcia “induced others to participate in the commission of the crime or occupied a position of leadership or dominance of other participants in its commission.”

Garcia would be ineligible for probation following any potential conviction, citing a state law that denies probation if thefts valued at more than $100,000 occurred, according to the warrant.

State licensing records show Garcia has been a licensed vocational nurse, with certifications for IV therapy and blood withdrawal, since April 2008. Her license remains current and active.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) charged a Spartanburg County woman with insurance fraud on Monday.

Officials said that Erin Shaquaile Robbs Kilgore, 31, was charged with the following:

Presenting a False Claim for Insurance Payment – Value $10,000 or More
(2 counts) Forgery – Value Less Than $10,000
Forgery – No Dollar Amount Involved

The South Carolina Department of Insurance requested the SLED investigation.

According to arrest warrants, Kilgore knowingly submitted a false insurance claim to GEICO around April 17. She uploaded two altered medical bills through the company’s online portal, the first from Atrium Health reflected a service date of Oct. 5 2022, for $9,700.60, and the second from Spartanburg Regional reflected service dates Oct. 8 and Oct. 10, 2022, for $4,287.23. An investigation determined that Kilgore did not receive treatment on those dates.

Another arrest warrant indicates that around June 3, 2024, Kilgore submitted a forged bank statement to GEICO, issued by Citi Bank, reflecting two debit purchases on Dec. 14, 2023, allegedly made to Atrium Health and Spartanburg Regional in the amounts of $9,700.60 and $4,287.23. The investigation revealed that the account number and name listed on the bank statement did not exist.

Kilgore was booked into the Spartanburg County Detention Center. The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Department of Insurance.

Seven South Florida men were among 30 brokers, lawyers and investors charged on Wednesday in an alleged decade-long insider-trading scheme that was fueled by confidential information stolen from law firms and netted tens of millions of dollars in illicit stock profits, federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the defendants used the confidential information on about 30 merger and acquisition deals from several of the nation’s premier law firms, including a firm headquartered in Massachusetts, between 2014 and 2024.

Authorities said they arrested 19 of the defendants on Wednesday and that two are on the lam in Russia and Israel, noting they are charged in two securities-fraud conspiracy indictments unsealed in federal court in Boston. They also said nine other defendants have been charged in the nationwide insider-trading investigation led by the FBI. “Our country’s financial markets and professional firms should be free from the rampant fraud and breaches of duty that these charges allege,” United States Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a news release. “The trading on unannounced financial news alleged here not only violated the securities laws, but it also took advantage of the special access and ethical duties that come with a law license.”

Federal prosecutors said attorneys Nicolo Nourafchan, 43, of Los Angeles, and Robert Yadgarov, 45, of Long Beach, New York, “recruited other attorneys and insiders to serve as sources of inside information” on major acquisitions and “paid their sources kickbacks consisting of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.” Authorities said the two lawyers provided information “to a network of traders and middlemen whom they also enlisted to join the scheme.” Investigators said the conspirators “transferred proceeds and kickback payments in cash and through intermediaries and shell companies, in locations like Panama and Switzerland” and disguised them as “loans” or business transactions. The South Florida men indicted in the case played roles as investors or middlemen who received insider tips, according to court records. They are: Brian Fensterszaub, 45, an insurance adjuster, of Hollywood; Mark Fensterszaub, an insurance adjuster, 47, of Hollywood; Simon Fensterszaub, a doctor, 50, of Fort Lauderdale; Baruch Igal Hatanian, a salesman, 39, of Fort Lauderdale; Yisroel Horowitz, an insurance adjuster, 50, of Hollywood; Gavryel Silverstein, an insurance adjuster, 43, of Hollywood; and Joseph Suskind, an insurance adjuster, 39, of Sunny Isles Beach. The Fensterszaubs are brothers and are related to Horowitz, Silverstein and Suskind through marriages, according to a civil complaint filed in a parallel Securities and Exchange Commission case.

Horowitz’s lawyer, David Weinstein, and Suskind’s attorney, Andrew Levi, declined to comment. The other five defendants’ lawyers were not listed in the court record. All seven defendants were granted bonds at their first appearances in federal court in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday and will face arraignments in Boston. Besides Nourafchan and Yadgarov, the other non-South Florida defendants charged in the scheme are: Pedram Fejal, 39, of Brooklyn, New York; Ilya Gavrilov, 56, of Russia; God Izraelov, 46, of Israel; David Makary, 35, of Covina, California; Nowel Milik, 52, of Brea, California; David Moradi, 35, of Brooklyn, New York; Lorenzo Nourafchan, 38, of Los Angeles; David Ostrov, 49, of Clifton, New Jersey; Nicholas Rudela, 30, of Covina, California; Yechiel Salzberg, 51, of Far Rockaway, New York; Abe Shilian, 35, of Brooklyn, New York; and Stjepan Vinski, 30, of Glendora, California. The defendants each face multiple federal charges, including securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and money-laundering conspiracy. The charges carry up to decades in prison.

On March 18, 2026, the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) was contacted by the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) about suspected fraudulent insurance claims in Ouachita Parish.

After being contacted by LDI, OSFM fire investigators conducted a comprehensive review and requested additional documentation regarding numerous insurance claims spanning nearly a decade.

Through multiple search warrants and the collection of digital evidence and statements, OSFM was able to identify the individauls from West Monroe to be involved in insurance fraud, identity theft, and related criminal activity.

· 22-year-old Jaylen Whitlock:
– Insurance Fraud (1 count)
– Felony Theft (Over $25,000) (1 count)

· 19-year-old Latricia Whitlock:
– Insurance Fraud (1 count)

· 25-year-old Laquadra Whitlock Brown:
– Insurance Fraud (7 counts)
– Computer Fraud (5 counts)
– Identity Theft (3 counts)
– Money Laundering (1 count)
– Forgery (1 count)
– Felony Theft (Over $25,000) (8 counts)

· 40-year-old Lashaundalyn Whitlock:
– Insurance Fraud (8 counts)
– Computer Fraud (5 counts)
– Identity Theft (3 counts)
– Forgery (5 counts)
– Felony Theft (Over $25,000) (5 counts)

· 37-year-old Romenique Whitlock:
– Insurance Fraud (1 count)
– Felony Theft (Over $25,000) (1 count)

· 27-year-old Terrence Mays:
– Insurance Fraud (1 count)
– Felony Theft (Over $25,000) (1 count)

This investigation is ongoing and more arrests and charges are possible according to officials.

A Milwaukee woman is facing felony charges for allegedly defrauding Wisconsin Medicaid of over $2 million.

Debbie Long, 44, owned Pinnacle Home Health Care LLC, a company that offered “personal care services” to members of Medicaid, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. In a statement Thursday, Long’s attorney said his client will fight the charges, saying she is not guilty.

The felony charges are focused on Long’s operations from 2017 to 2022.

“The State alleges that she defrauded Wisconsin Medicaid of almost $2.2 million by billing for personal care services which did not take place,” the complaint said.

The complaint said she also “fraudulently obtained a $219,072 loan from the Paycheck Protection Program by inflating the size of Pinnacle’s workforce and payroll expenses.”

“Lastly, the State alleges that Long used the proceeds from her unlawful activities to purchase a restaurant, a car, and a car wash,” the complaint said. “As for the purchase of the car and car wash, Long helped funnel her ill-gotten gains through several shell companies in a series of transactions designed to conceal the origin of the funds.”

Prosecutors allege she used a variety of methods to defraud the state’s Medicaid system, including billing for personal care services that could not have happened.

“In total, Pinnacle was paid more than $1.57 million in connection with claims for personal care services that were either impossible or improbable,” the complaint said.

She also allegedly billed for services that were never rendered, billed for services in higher amounts and billed for travel expenses that were “never incurred.”

Prosecutors also allege she defrauded the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal program that was created during the COVID-19 pandemic. The complaint said Long submitted a fraudulent application to that program in May 2020.

In her application, Long said Pinnacle Home Health Care, LLC, had 120 employees and a monthly payroll that averaged nearly $90,000, according to the complaint. However, that information was “directly contradicted by the information Pinnacle provided to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) for the same timeframe,” the complaint said.

Long allegedly used the funds from the PPP loan and from her Medicaid reimbursements to buy Kitt’s Frozen Custard, a Milwaukee business.

“Long also helped direct money, obtained from her scheme to defraud Wisconsin Medicaid, from Pinnacle through three shell companies and her own bank accounts to fund the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz AMG S63 and an Octopus Car Wash,” the complaint said. “Long, along with her husband, moved the money around through numerous transactions designed to conceal the origin, ownership, and control of the proceeds.”

Long was charged with one count of fraud against a financial institution, one count of theft by fraud, one count of wire fraud against a financial institution, one count of money laundering and another count of money laundering as party to a crime. All of those charges are felonies.

In a statement, William Sulton, Long’s attorney, said the state’s argument is based on a clerical error and said its calculations ignore the home health care industry practice of using contractors. He said Long’s actions were legitimate business practices.

“This complaint is a math exercise designed to reach a pre-determined conclusion,” Sulton said. “If you account for independent contractors and fix the State’s own clerical mistakes, the massive fraud allegations evaporate.”

Long will make her initial appearance in court on July 16, according to online records.

A woman is facing multiple felony charges after she set fire to a condemned property and caused significant damage to a nearby home earlier this year.

The fire was reported March 2 at 1:30 a.m. at the corner of West Main and Barton streets, according to Bloomsburg Officer Tori Fitzwater.

When officers arrived, a detached garage at 598 W. Main St. was fully engulfed in flames. Police said the property had previously been condemned by town officials.

During the investigation, officers were approached by Samantha Jeanett Ashton, 38, who admitted she had entered the garage before the fire began despite knowing she wasn’t allowed inside. Ashton told police she initially tried to use a lighter to see but, when it did not work, used a vape device and later a lighter to ignite a piece of cardboard, according to the affidavit.

Police said Ashton told investigators she placed the burning cardboard into a container inside the garage and then left the property. The fire subsequently spread, damaging the garage and causing extensive damage to the adjacent home, as well as the neighboring home.

The home and garage were bulldozed several weeks later because the buildings were damaged beyond repair, officials decided.

The fire marshal later determined the fire was intentionally set, with the origin located inside the garage and caused by an open flame applied to combustible materials, according to the report.

Ashton is charged with felony counts of arson causing danger of death or bodily injury and arson endangering property, along with additional charges including reckless burning, criminal trespass, risking catastrophe and reckless endangerment.

Court records show Ashton’s bail was initially set at $100,000 monetary bail and later modified to unsecured bail.

On March 27, 2026, detectives of the Allegheny County Police Department filed a criminal complaint charging 36 year old Tanausha M. Wilson of Pittsburgh, PA with Insurance Fraud. According to the complaint, it is alleged that Wilson reinstated her auto insurance policy with Progressive Insurance after she had been involved in a collision. During the reinstatement, Wilson allegedly provided a “Statement of No Loss” indicating that neither she nor her vehicle had been involved in any collisions or losses and that there had been no damage to her vehicle.

The owner of a public adjusting company is accused of fraud after taking money from insurers intended for his clients, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

Michael Joseph Breitenbach, 53, the owner of Patriot Public Adjusting, LLC, is accused of misappropriating over $82,000 in insurance claims and defrauding elderly homeowners in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, officials said.

Investigators explained that between September of 2023 and 2024, Breitenbach received at least eight checks from insurance companies and was supposed to distribute the money to his clients or contractors, but did not.

Victims said that their signatures were forged on checks and they never saw any of the money, according to officials.

There were four victims who shared their stories with investigators. They include:

A woman in Bensalem Township, Pa., who never received $14,000 from claims for storm damage.
An elderly victim in Montgomery County, Pa., who was not given the $33,000 from a claim for a leak in her home.
Another elderly victim in Trenton, NJ, who was defrauded of more than $18,000 from a property-damage claim
A woman in Hamilton Township, NJ, who was defrauded of more than $17,000.
Breitenbach is charged with insurance fraud, theft by deception, forgery and deceptive business practices. He is currently being held in the Bucks County Jail after failing to post bail.

Officials believe that there are more victims out there. If you think you are victim of Breitenbach or of his business, Patriot Public Adjusting, LLC, please contact the Bucks County Detectives at 215-348-6354.

Online court records currently don’t list an attorney for Breitenbach who could speak on his behalf.

On March 24, 2026, detectives of the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office arrested 32 year old Jiavoni T. Collins of Sharon Hill, PA and charged her with Insurance Fraud. According to the criminal complaint, Collins filed a damage claim with GEICO Insurance on February 27, 2026, shortly after she purchased her GEICO policy. Collins reportedly submitted photos of the damage to her vehicle in support of the claim, and according to the complaint, metadata and time stamps on the photos showed they were taken on August 3, 2025 – prior to Collins obtaining the GEICO policy.

Kia hamster actor charged with disability fraud