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20 arrested in insurance fraud sweep; 2 fugitives still at large (MUGSHOTS)

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced the arrest of 20 Pennsylvanians for a variety of unrelated insurance fraud offenses that are among some of the most commonly committed crimes.

The recent sweep is the result of investigations by the Office of Attorney General's Insurance Fraud Section, Kane said.

"Insurance fraud is one of the most costly white-collar crimes in America today, with estimated losses in the billions of dollars annually," Kane said. "This sweep demonstrates the severe penalties for committing these crimes, which increases costs for everyone, including seniors."

Two targets of the sweep, Steven Henderson and Jaimie Rice, are still at large, and fugitive warrants have been issued for their arrest, according to Kane.

Private citizens can report allegations of insurance fraud using an online form or by calling the IFPA's hotline at 1-888-565-IFPA (4372).

Consumers with a complaint involving an insurance company that does not involve fraud should contact the Pennsylvania Insurance Department at 1-877-881-6388 or the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555.

Below is a list of the defendants, the charges against them and a description of their alleged criminal acts from Attorney General Kane’s website.

Dawn Thompson, 39, Apollo, Armstrong County, and Meghan Cavanaugh, 28, Renfrew, Butler County, allegedly conspired to fill dozens of fraudulent prescriptions for powerful painkillers that they illegally obtained from the medical office where they both worked. Thompson is charged with four counts of insurance fraud, three counts of violating the Controlled Substance Act, one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of forgery and one count of theft by deception. Cavanaugh is charged with two counts of insurance fraud, one count of violating the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of forgery and one count of theft by deception.

Thomas Apitsch, 32, Pittsburgh, is charged with one count of insurance fraud and one count of attempted theft by deception. Apitsch allegedly attempted to get his insurance policy to cover $3,372 in damages for an accident that occurred prior to obtaining a policy.

Laura Williams, 30, Greensburg, Westmoreland County, is charged with one count of insurance fraud and one count of violating the Pharmacy Act. Williams allegedly filled and billed her insurance for 26 prescriptions from the pharmacy where she worked that were not authorized by the physician's assistant on the prescription slip.

Jaimie Rice, 30, Turtle Creek, Allegheny County, is charged with two counts of insurance fraud and one count of attempted theft by deception. Rice allegedly attempted to defraud her insurance company by lying about the timing of an accident, which actually occurred prior to obtaining coverage.

Staci Gaffney, 41, Jeannette, Westmoreland County, is charged with one count each of insurance fraud and attempted theft by deception. Gaffney allegedly obtained an accident policy and attempted to use it to pay for treatments for a knee injury that occurred prior to obtaining coverage.

Scott Hovis, 33, Franklin, Venango County, is charged with one count each of insurance fraud, theft by deception and tampering with records or identification. Hovis allegedly altered paperwork to embellish injuries and fabricated other injuries to obtain $3,395 from his insurance company.

Robert Smith, 47, Hermitage, Mercer County, is charged with one count of insurance fraud. Smith is charged with allegedly lying to his insurance company about his accident history, when he attempted to gain coverage immediately following a two-vehicle crash he was involved in.

Joseph Leckemby, 49, Uniontown, Fayette County, is charged with one count of violating the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, one count of insurance fraud and three counts of forgery. Leckemby allegedly altered prescriptions from three different doctors to illegally obtain oxycodone.

Steven Henderson, 33, Meadville, Crawford County, is charged with one count of insurance fraud and one count of theft by deception. Henderson allegedly defrauded his insurance company of $2,000 by claiming that injuries from an accident prevented him from working. However, an investigation revealed that Henderson never stopped working at his construction job following his alleged accident.

Ashley Hamilton, 25, Bucks County, is charged with one count each of attempted theft by deception and insurance fraud. Hamilton allegedly staged a slip and fall accident inside a store. She told a claims adjuster she slipped and hurt her hand, but surveillance footage shows her sitting down on the floor of the aisle.

Rhonda Clark, 34, Philadelphia, is charged with one count each of attempted theft by deception, insurance fraud and forgery. Clark allegedly lied about the nature of losing her job. She claimed she was fired and attempted to collect involuntary unemployment insurance. An investigation revealed Clark was not fired but had resigned.

Christopher Murphy, 34, Bucks County, is charged with one count each of insurance fraud and theft by deception. Murphy allegedly renewed his insurance policy the day after being involved in an accident and submitted a false claim that the accident had occurred after he renewed the policy.

Wakia Bracy, 35, Delaware County, is charged with one count each of insurance fraud and attempted theft by deception. Bracy allegedly added collision insurance to her policy after being involved in an accident then made a false claim about the timing of the accident.

Whitney Hooks, 50, Delaware County, is charged with one count each of insurance fraud, lying to law enforcement and attempted theft by deception. Hooks allegedly lied to police about her car being stolen. The car was recovered with significant damage from an accident, not a theft. Experts determined that the car had only been driven with a factory key and had not been stolen.

James Lesoine, 50, Monroe County, is charged with one count each of insurance fraud and attempted theft by deception. Lesoine allegedly misrepresented the vehicle in need of coverage from his insurance company for repairs as his personal vehicle, when it was actually his work vehicle, which was not covered.

Wesley DeJesus-Sierra, 26, Dauphin County, is charged with one count each of insurance fraud and attempted theft by deception. DeJesus-Sierra attempted to defraud his insurance company by lying about the timing of an accident, which actually occurred prior to obtaining coverage.

Robin Matukewicz, 51, Lancaster, and David Matukewicz, 49, Schuylkill County, are each charged with two counts of insurance fraud, one count of theft by deception and one count of criminal conspiracy. The estranged couple allegedly conspired to submit several bogus applications for insurance using their children's names in order for David to obtain a commission on the applications.

Jamilla Workman, 59, Berks County, is charged with one count each of insurance fraud, attempted theft by deception and unsworn falsification to authorities. Workman allegedly lied to both her insurance company and local police about the extent and timing of damage to her vehicle.

Samuel Perry-Cross, 54, Lancaster, is charged with one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received. As an insurance agent, Perry-Cross allegedly received cash payments from customers, and stole the money for own use.  An audit revealed that Perry attempted to cover up the theft by diverting funds from escrow accounts.

Clark Miller, 43, Lebanon County, is charged with two counts of insurance fraud and one count of attempted theft by deception. Miller allegedly provided false and misleading information on a homeowner's insurance application for a property in Harrisburg, Dauphin County. He also allegedly falsely claimed that existing damage to the property was caused by a tree falling and a tornado.

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