Law agency, companions fined $2 million for “huge insurance coverage fraud scheme”

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has fined Texas regulation agency McLenny Moseley & Associates (MMA) and related companions $2 million for hurricane-related insurance coverage fraud involving at the least 850 Louisiana owners and policyholders.

“The unlawful insurance coverage scheme perpetrated by McClenny Moseley & Associates is frankly probably the most egregious instances that has ever come by this division,” mentioned Donelon. “The $2 million in fines ought to put all unhealthy actors on discover that fraudulent conduct is not going to be tolerated in Louisiana.”

MMA, founding companions James McLenny and John Moseley, and Louisiana managing companion William Huye III have been every fined $500,000, the utmost penalty permitted below present regulation.

MMA has admitted to at the least 856 fraudulent misrepresentations that it had been retained by Louisiana policyholders to settle claims when it didn’t characterize the people, as per an ongoing Lousiana Department of Insurance investigation (LDI), the LDI mentioned in a press launch. 

The regulation agency’s fraudulent conduct included presenting fee calls for, invoking coverage appraisal provisions, and receiving and negotiating settlement checks with out policyholder authorization, the LDI mentioned.

“Based on the LDI’s investigation, these misrepresentations and unauthorized legal representations were made by MMA with intent to injure, defraud or deceive Louisiana policyholders and insurers for the purpose of diverting insurance claim proceeds to their benefit and collecting predatory professional service fees to which they were not entitled,” the LDI mentioned.

The LDI urged policyholders who could have been “fraudulently represented” by the agency to contact its workplace of insurance coverage fraud.