A mortuary worker from Los Angeles, California contrived a morbid scheme – that of faking her own death in order to defraud life insurance companies. She even went as far as to stage her own funeral, which included the cremation of a mannequin and cow parts which had been placed in the coffin.

Jean Crump, aged 67, from Los Angeles, could face a prison sentence of up to 90 years after a jury found her guilty of fraud, including one count of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud.

Woman Sought a $1.2 million Life Insurance Benefit

Crump, along with three accomplices went to painstaking lengths in her attempt to defraud a life insurance company and obtain payment on a policy worth more than 1.2 million dollars.

1. First the woman obtained a fake death certificate
2. Then, Crump purchased land for a burial plot
3. Finally, she staged a funeral where an empty casket was buried

Foul play Suspected by Life Insurers

The life insurance company became suspicious of the claims and launched an investigation, so Crump took drastic measures. She had the coffin exhumed and filled with animal remains and a dummy before cremating the contents.

Fraud Included Obtaining Advance Funding for Bereaved Families

Crump has also been charged with obtaining money from a life insurance company to cover bereavement expenses, in order to cover the cost of the funeral (the life insurance company later takes a cut of the life insurance payout of the deceased life insurance policy holder). Crump is to be sentenced later this year – her accomplices have pleaded guilty as charged.

Source

Daily Telegraph

photo credit: codepo8

Amy Guzman’s son, Lance Cpl Kyle Guzman was just 21 years old when he died in a U.S. Marine Corps training accident in November 2007. Just a day after Lance Cpl Guzman’s funeral, Raymond Brogan, 43, persuaded her to hand over control of the Iraq War veteran’s life insurance payout to him.

Raymond Brogan told Joyce Guzman that he would take care of her bills and invest the money for her – but instead Brogan, along with this accomplice Robert Brogan, 63 went on to induce her to sign fraudulent checks, forging her name on others.

Widow Tricked into Signing Away Son’s Life Insurance

Raymond Brogan was the boyfriend of Mrs. Guzman’s half-sister Carol Ann Damico, aged 35. Both of them manipulated the grieving mom into signing a power of attorney favoring Brogan – and two days later the pair signed an addendum which designated the couple’s address as the one to send the life policy benefits to.

Raymond Brogan had an accomplice in the fraud, his uncle,  Robert Brogan and both were jailed by US District Judge Morrison C England Jr. – Robert Brogan to three years and one month, and Raymond Brogan to two years and nine months. The judge, in a rare move, rejected a plea bargain by Robert Brogan and his lawyers, which would have reduced his sentence. R. Steven Lapham, top prosecuting lawyer and John Manning, a renowned defense lawyer argued that Robert Brogan was simply a ‘conduit’ for the money laundering operation.  They also stated that he had given ‘substantial’ assistance to the government’ in a criminal case.

Judge Morrison admitted Life Insurance Case had Troubled Him

But Judge Morrison, although he admitted that the case had promoted a ‘very visceral emotional response’ in him, believed that Robert Brogan was just as culpable of the crime and therefore there should be no diminution of the sentence.

Both Brogans have been ordered to pay back the stolen life insurance benefits to Joyce Guzman of Burney, Shasta County.

In the case, in which more than $200,000 of life insurance was stolen, charges against Carol Ann Damico who was originally implicated were dropped.

Source:  Insurancenews. Net and McClathy-Tribune Information Services Jan 2011

photo credit: hectorir

According to a recent survey 74% of couples never or very rarely discuss life insurance, despite stating  that life insurance is more important a subject to them than two years ago. The research was carried out by KRC Research on behalf of a new State Farm Life Insurance Company and aimed to find out about peoples’ attitudes towards life insurance and the factors which influence them. Over 1000 American adults took part in a random telephone survey in August of this year.

Women less Likely to Initiate a Discussion about Life Insurance

The results of the interviews showed that primary earners within families found it the most difficult to broach the subject of life insurance, with women being slightly less likely to initiate a discussion; 64% of women compared with 47% of men were less prepared to talk about the prospect of being the only breadwinner – showing that life insurance for women is a particular trouble spot.

According to Professor Mary Quist-Newins, Chair for Women and Finance at State Farm Insurance and the American College, “Women, in particular, appear to be especially silent on this topic, and this is troubling when increasing numbers of women are becoming primary income earners for their families.”

Reasons for Avoidance include Economic Insecurity

Reasons for avoidance are thought to include worries about daily economic issues, and fear of upsetting the other partner. But, according to Joe Monk, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at State Farm Life Insurance “As awkward as it can be to discuss the potential death of a family member, an uncomfortable discussion today can prevent a devastating financial impact tomorrow.”

The survey found that 62% of those questioned believed that, due to the economic downturn life insurance was more important than ever. But when asked why they were reluctant to discuss this important topic 74% said that simply meeting their families’ immediate financial needs as the sole earner was their main concern – in many cases this having become a struggle. 51% said that they would not be prepared to start a discussion about life insurance in the event of their partner losing their job since they would consider this insensitive, in terms of hurting their feelings.

Encouragingly (85%) the couples questioned believed that it was just as important for stay at home moms and dads to take out life insurance as it was for partners who worked.

Make Time to Talk about Life Insurance

With the current economic instability making plans for the financial future is more important than ever – State Farm’s advice is start small – even becoming more educated about life insurance options is a step forward – and the best way to do this is to consult a life insurance expert who can provide information about all the different options available.

Source:

Insurancenewsnet.com September 2010

photo credit: gripso_banana_prune

It has recently come to light that – unbeknownst to families of American veterans – the Department for Veteran Affairs set up a secret deal with the Prudential Insurance Company which has denied millions of families of fallen soldiers their lump sum life insurance payouts. The VA allegedly allowed the Prudential to withhold funds on the basis of using so-called ‘retained assets’ accounts for 10 years.

The agreement was only made public due to a request filed to the Freedom of Information Act. The agreement, forged in 1999, was never put in writing – it allowed the life insurance company to withhold large sums of money which should have been passed directly to survivors – money which went on to make the Prudential a substantial sum in interest.

Grieving Families Disallowed Life Insurance Payouts

Brendan Bridgeland , a lawyer with the not-for-profit group Center for Insurance Research based in Cambridge Massachusetts, said that for a decade Prudential had not been fulfilling its obligations to veterans;  and that it was very clear that Prudential had been “violating the terms of the original contract.”

The revelations have appalled veterans who have accused the Prudential of “brazen war profiteering.” Paul Williams who served in the Afghanistan war as an army cavalry scout stated “When grieving families tick the box that they want a lump sum they should get it.”

Prudential and Other Insurance Companies to Face Fraud Investigation

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has launched a fraud investigation into both the Prudential and other life insurers over the use of ‘retained asset accounts.’ Under the original VA contract with the Prudential the insurance company was “required to send lump sum payouts to survivors requesting them.”

However instead of life insurance payouts the Prudential was issuing families with ‘check books’ or IOUs which are not insured by the Federal Insurance Deposit Corp. The withheld payouts to survivors have were placed in investment accounts, earning the insurer over eight times more in interest than that paid in interest to beneficiaries. Prudential held over $662 million of survivors’ assets in its corporate account in June of this year.

Veterans’ Families have Good Case for Suing Life Insurer for Lost Interest

According to Bridgeland the families have a very good case for suing the Prudential. The Prudential insists it was acting in accordance with the wishes of the VA who, in a bid to salvage the situation has attempted to put in writing the changes only verbally agreed in 1999. According to insurance law Professor Jeremy Stempel this is simply an attempt to ‘reinvent history’ giving nothing to ‘the people in uniform.’

Source: Bloomberg

photo credit: DVIDSHUB

The Beckett Glaves Funeral Center in Brantford, has become the first funeral home in Canada to offer funeral services on live webcam.  This was the type of funeral Larry Ruidema Zudd’s family chose for him recently.

Larry Rudd, a soldier from Brantford, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan last year and his funeral service was streamed live from Brantford to his colleagues in Afghanistan and to relatives in British Columbia and Holland who watched the service on their computers at home.

Facebook for Funerals

The new technology has been touted as ‘Facebook for funerals,’ meaning that footage from the webcam can also be watched the next day, which was a help to Larry Rudd’s relatives in B.C since some of them lost visuals of the funeral during the service.

Life Insurance is an Option worth considering when it comes to funeral costs

For those left behind, having to arrange a funeral service for a loved one, online service or not, is one of life’s less pleasant tasks. Having the additional burden of wondering how to cover the expenses of funerals is even worse; which is why many people choose to take out life insurance which has the option to pay cash to the bereaved to cover funeral costs (sometimes cash can be paid directly to the funeral directors).

Parents of Baby Boomers would “Turn in their Graves”

The idea of online funerals doesn’t appeal to everyone, admits Glaves – “The big fear is those crazies on the internet – that mom or dad will end up in their casket on You Tube.” There is also the fact that some funeral homes are attempting to make profits by charging as much as $500 for the extra service (the Beckett Glaves Funeral Center provides the webcam for free).

When you consider that the average cost of a funeral in the US is $6500, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, it becomes apparent that dying is expensive for those left behind; this is worth remembering when taking out Life Insurance and planning ahead is the key.

Take up of Online Funerals is Rising

Around 80% of people are apparently signing up for the ‘sympathy cast’ according to Glaves, and those that decide against the service are usually baby boomers arranging funerals for parents. “They’re saying I would like to do this for me but mom would hate it.” Glaves admitted that his father, who was funeral director before him, ‘would have been horrified.’”

But, according to Paul Generowicz, owner of Sympathynet.com, the technology has been a ‘godsend’ for friends and relatives who cannot physically attend funerals – for instance because they live too far away or are confined to bed (or even prison). This is something Larry Rudd’s mother, reiterated: Zuidema Rudd said that broadcasting her son’s funeral was a comfort and that “it brought our family together without them having to come here.”

Source

Susan Pigg, The Star.com August 2010

photo credit: The National Guard