Fraud News: Attorney Takes Client’s Money, Fire Captain Files Fake Claim

Kentucky attorney charged with defrauding insurance clients

A Kentucky attorney is facing charges in federal court that he defrauded clients out of their insurance settlements for $550,000.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Louisville says James Grant King allegedly committed aggravated identity theft and wire fraud from 2007 to this year.

Prosecutors say King’s clients in western Kentucky sought his help in recovering money from insurance companies. King was keeping all or most of the settlement money for himself, according to a U.S. Attorney release.

King, 43, is also charged with obtaining a $97,500 personal loan from a person in McCracken County. King used a boat for collateral, then got a duplicate title for the boat and sold it without repaying the loan, the release said.

If convicted, King could face 42 years in prison.

Pennsylvania Fire Official Charged With Insurance Fraud

A Philadelphia Fire Department captain has been arrested and charged with insurance fraud.

Court records show 43-year-old Yolanda Stallings, of Philadelphia, was arrested June 27 and charged with various offenses including forgery and false reports.

A department spokeswoman says they won’t comment because it’s a personnel matter. But court records show Stallings reported her vehicle stolen and filed a $18,500 claim, though investigators determined the vehicle was torched in Washington D.C. and her accounts kept changing.

Stallings and her lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Stallings formerly served as an executive chief of strategic services before being moved to paramedic captain after internal restructuring earlier this year. Fire officials say Stallings was the first African American woman to serve on the executive team as a high ranking official.

Florida Officer Gets 5 Years for Driver License Theft Scheme

A former Florida police officer has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in an identity theft scheme that involved a confidential law enforcement driver license database.

Court documents show 38-year-old Raul Castellon of the Hialeah Police Department was sentenced Tuesday. He pleaded guilty in May to corruption, access device fraud and identity theft charges.

Castellon admitted in court documents to using Florida’s Driver and Vehicle Information Database in 2016 to access identities of at least 25 people. Those identities were passed to 32-year-old Neilin Gonzalez Diaz, who used them to fraudulently obtain merchandise from retail stores throughout Florida.

Gonzalez Diaz also pleaded guilty in the case. He was sentenced Tuesday to six years and nine months in prison.