ID, please

A change in visa laws tripped up this fraudster. After faking his death in a canoeing accident, Briton John
Darwin was living it up on his own life insurance money in Panama — until visa laws changed. Panama
required increased identity verification, an obstacle for the deceased Darwin. Darwin packed up and headed
back to the U.K., where he faked amnesia. Darwin’s story quickly unraveled, and both he and his wife went to
prison.

2. Till death do us part

Don’t leave behind your wife with a broken heart and all the bills. That's what one Long Island, N.Y., man
discovered after he faked drowning to collect insurance money. "While I was crying and thinking he had
drowned, he was vacationing in a resort and having a drink in the pool," said Evana Roth, wife of the alleged
deceased. Her husband, Raymond Roth, faked his death and enlisted a relative to help him keep the money
from her. When she discovered the truth, she quickly turned him in.

3. But you have two arms…

Would you chop off your arm to collect on a dismemberment policy? Neither would Michael LeDuc. That's why
he faked an amputation instead. To fool his insurance company, Michigan resident LeDuc submitted forged
medical records showing he lost an arm in a wood chipper. His insurer caught the fraudulent paperwork.
Apparently, it's hard to prove an arm amputation with two attached arms.

4. She should have ordered the salad

There’s a WHAT in your soup? Carla Patterson tried to defraud a Virginia Cracker Barrel restaurant for a
$500,000 insurance settlement after claiming she found a mouse in her soup. An investigation found that the
mouse didn’t have any soup in its lungs and never was cooked. She was sentenced to one year in prison.

5. A rabbi, $450 million worth of

insurance fraud, and an 845-year
sentence
Rabbi Sholam Weiss masterminded one of the largest insurance fraud cases in American history. Weiss
organized a criminal coalition of businessmen who defrauded their way to a staggering $450 million. The judge,
in turn, rewarded Weiss with a staggering 845 years in prison. Weiss’ projected release date from a
Pennsylvania penitentiary is November 23, 2754.

6. Feds scammed for breast implants

Las Vegas cosmetic surgeon Shanita Flax found an insurance fraud opportunity in a government program that
paid for cancer survivors’ breast implants. Her two-part plan involved pocketing cash from patients and filing
fake paperwork with the government. If her plan had worked, we wouldn't be writing about it. She was charged
with 18 counts of theft and one count of attempted theft.

What’s the craziest insurance fraud case you’ve heard about? Have any bizarre stories of your own?
Please share them below in comments!