Missouri Contractors Charged With Tornado Fraud

Two Laclede County contractors stand accused of fraud after allegedly accepting insurance checks from three Joplin, Mo., homeowners to repair tornado damage but not doing the work.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office says Jeffrey Wolson of Osage Beach and Gloria Diane Schoeller of Springfield defrauded Joplin homeowners out of $38,000 after the deadly May 2011 tornado. Their Lebanon company is called Insurexx LLC.

The pair faces Jasper County charges of felony theft, unlawful merchandising practices, insurance fraud and acting as unlicensed insurance adjusters. Schoeller also faces a Laclede County charge of interfering with a civil investigation.

Court records do not list attorneys for them.

In an unrelated case, seven Joplin residents and a Laclede County man were charged Wednesday with fraud over alleged improper requests for disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.