Professional Investigator Warns Insurers to Check Public Records and –Surprise- Medical Records for the Real Scoop

Terese Strickland, a professional private investigator in Knoxville, Tennessee has seen some strange insurance claims in her years as an investigator. One that sticks out in her mind is “a claimant who insisted he became diabetic as a result of a car accident.” While such cases may bring a chuckle to many people, they are no joke for insurers who lose millions each year as a result of such bogus claims. read more »

A 42-year-old woman who finagled more than $140,000 in cash and gifts from an elderly San Mateo man pleaded no contest to elder abuse Monday despite insisting at an earlier hearing she was ready to face a jury.

After Gina Costello, 42, refused to accept a May plea bargain, prosecutors said she had lost her last chance to sidestep a jury trial and yanked the three-year deal from the table. However, on Monday, Costello was allowed to plead no contest to the charges and allegations. She returns to court Oct. 14 for sentencing.

Judge Craig Parsons said he would consider electronic home monitoring up to five years in prison. The sentence partially depends on if Costellos is able to pay back the money.

Finding out you’ve known him all along …

Could YOU be putting your child at risk for sexual abuse and not even know it? You would never forgive yourself but the majority of parents in America are guilty of this denial. We hear the horror stories on almost a daily basis, but we think ..’Not in my town, not in my neighborhood.’

Polly Franks, mother of three little girls thought the same thing. But she was wrong, almost dead wrong. After several years of a close relationship with a trusted family living in her neighborhood, her two young daughters were attacked by a sexual predator while they slept at the trusted neighbor’s home …But it wasn’t an intruder…it was the neighbor himself… read more »

Blanca Aparicio, manager of United Automobile Insurance Group’s Special Investigative Unit in North Miami Beach, Fla. was honored with the 2006 “Insurance Investigator of the Year Award” presented by the Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee. The award is presented based on the candidates’ commitment and dedication to the insurance fraud investigation industry.

“Blanca has done a tremendous job overseeing our SIU department and its heavy caseload,” Sandra Iglesias, UAIG senior vice president of claims said. “She has received much deserved, award-winning news coverage for her investigative prowess and successful apprehension of several people who have committed insurance fraud, resulting in arrests and convictions.”

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) govern court procedures for civil suits brought in federal courts. Rules 26 and 34 of the FRCP specifically cover discovery and disclosure of information that is relevant to civil suits.

Discovery is the part of the litigation process in which opposing parties exchange relevant information and testimony. Discovery helps both sides understand the facts and evidence before the trial starts. On April 12, 2006 the Supreme Court approved proposed amendments to these rules to address discovery issues that are unique to electronic discovery.

Apply for a job or promotion these days and chances are you’ll go through a criminal background check.But what happens when the information it uncovers is wrong and you don’t know it?

KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Graham Johnson has a warning for anyone applying for work. Criminal background checks are supposed to keep child molesters from working with kids and thieves away from jobs as bank tellers.

But sometimes, people with clean records lose jobs.

The Greenville Drive mascot is accused of molestation and he’s already on probation for unrelated charges.

The friendly frog named Reedy Rip ‘it is a good luck charm for Greenville’s minor league baseball team. But now, a woman says all the charm was lost. She accuses the man wearing the costume of taking advantage of her at a game.

FOX Carolina’s Jamie Guirola reports, There are a lot of questions about the man in the costume and how he was hired. Plus, FOX Carolina is the only station to dig into the mascot’s criminal background– finding a history his bosses didn’t know about.

Gaps in the law allowed him to get jobs despite probes

Two state agencies were investigating allegations that registered nurse Billy Blackerby withheld medicine from nursing home residents. The home already had fired him.

But within a month, while the investigations were under way, another home had hired him to care for its residents.

Blackerby, arrested June 14 on charges of elderly neglect, kept working because of gaps in Florida laws overseeing nursing homes and licensed health care workers.

And it wasn’t the first time.

Local claim could lead to $800 million class action
It started as a minor rear-end wreck.

A large truck, loaded with firewood, ran into a Dodge Dakota stuck in traffic on Man o’ War Boulevard in Lexington, scratching the pickup’s bumper and bending its frame.

That 1997 accident could spawn an $800 million class-action lawsuit brought by a Richmond woman against Allstate Insurance Co.

Debate over moral issues can be found in church, in politics, in schools and in our homes. Americans morally view certain behaviors in different ways. Sex, drunkenness and lies are among ten behaviors listed on a “Barometer Of Modern Morals”. It’s a survey taken this year by the Pew Research Center. Respondents were asked whether each one is morally acceptable, morally wrong or not a moral issue. Married people having an affair got a strong wrong with 88 % saying its a morally wrong behavior.

• Group for Private Investigators
• Group for Process Servers