Three in La. Arrested for Insurance Fraud

Two Baton Rouge, La., men and a Donaldsonville attorney face charges of conspiring to defraud an insurance company of $100,000, according to the Louisiana State Police.

Investigators believe Glenn Davis, 55, and Jessie Melton, 68, intentionally crashed their vehicles in order to file fraudulently bodily injury and property damage claims, Sgt. Stacey Pearson of the Louisiana State Police Insurance Fraud Unit said.

Davis lied about pre-existing injuries, enhanced the damage to his vehicle in order to inflate his claim and falsified repair invoices, Pearson said in a news release.

According to investigators, Melton, meanwhile, lied to the insurance company when he claimed his vehicle was damaged in the crash. The damage he claimed was pre-existing, Pearson said.

In addition, the two denied knowing each other when telephone records indicate the two had almost daily contact with each other, she said.

Marvin Gros, an attorney representing Davis, allegedly instructed the men to deny knowing each other and failed to reveal he had represented Melton in several previous lawsuits and was currently employing Melton and representing Melton’s son in a separate case, Pearson said.

If convicted of insurance fraud, the men face up to five years in jail and $5,000 fine.

Each was booked into the East Baton Rouge parish jail. Bond information was not immediately available.