SACRAMENTO - Because insurance fraud is a multi-billion dollar drain on California's economy, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and California Department of Insurance detectives remain committed to investigating insurance fraud, arresting those suspected of it, and assisting in the successful prosecutions that put fraudulent individuals behind bars.

"As I promised when I was sworn in for a second term, we have worked aggressively to investigate and assist in the prosecution of those committing  insurance crimes," said Commissioner Jones.

In the first 11 months of 2015, Department of Insurance detectives arrested 745 people for alleged insurance fraud.  Some of those arrested included:

• Two Santa Barbara business owners and their long-time employee suspected of violations of the California Unemployment Insurance code, Workers' Compensation premium fraud, fraudulent denial of Workers' Compensation benefits and Wage theft.

• Two elderly Visalia brothers, one of them an insurance agent, for allegedly stealing from fellow senior citizens by selling fraudulent investments.

• 15 Los Angeles area residents for allegedly staging auto collisions and filing more than half a million dollars in fraudulent claims.  In addition to the 15 arrested, 10 suspects agreed to turn themselves in and four suspects were still being sought.

• A San Diego woman on three felony counts of insurance fraud for filing a fraudulent auto claim. She was allegedly involved in a collision while driving uninsured. According to detectives, Jones purchased insurance after the accident and then filed a claim.

• Two Playa del Rey therapists for health insurance fraud after allegedly billing Anthem Blue Cross for services amounting to $3.5 million that were never provided.

• A Los Angeles doctor and his adopted son charged with multiple felony counts of health care disability fraud.  The two men  allegedly collected disability benefits totaling more than $1.8 million while continuing to work.

• A licensed insurance broker-agent on three felony counts of grand theft for stealing more than $100,000 from a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) program and more than $400,000 from other programs that his employer managed.

• A Pomona man and his ex-wife on multiple felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud including making a false claim to obtain compensation and attempted perjury.

• The CEOs of two sewing companies, along with their CPA, on 18 felony counts of workers' compensation insurance fraud totaling more than $11 million dollars in losses.
• An Escalon man  on three felony counts of insurance fraud. The suspect filed a fraudulent insurance claim with Farmers Insurance Exchange for more than $18,000 for items he claimed were stolen during a burglary.

• A Los Angeles woman  and her father, on two felony counts of insurance fraud.  The two were arrested after detectives discovered they allegedly conspired with an man to defraud Alliance United Insurance Company out of nearly $18,000 in a staged accident.

• Seven people in California and Washington for allegedly conspiring to defraud eight insurance companies.  The group is accused of submitting more than 70 fraudulent auto insurance claims totaling more than $175,000.

• A Lakewood man  on two counts of auto insurance fraud. The man  allegedly totaled his BMW while racing and then lied  to his insurer about where the collision occurred when filing his claim.

"There are far more people committing insurance fraud in this state, than there are investigators to find and arrest them," said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  "Department of Insurance detectives work on long, complicated cases and their work is impressive.  The citizens of California rarely get a look at the work these detectives do in an effort to keep insurance premiums down and California's economy from being ripped off."