Woman sentenced for fraudulent insurance payments totaling $268K in 2-year span

DENVER ( KDVR ) — An Aurora woman was sentenced after she pleaded guilty to theft and insurance fraud through fraudulent automobile insurance claims, alleging that she had committed the fraud to pay off her sister’s medical debt and her own gambling debts.

According to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Colette Palin, 63, of Aurora, was working for Travelers Insurance in 2020 when the company flagged “several of her claims as suspicious” because they were associated with the same email address. The company investigated and found the address belonged to Palin, and that a known associate of hers, Shawn Brassfield, 55, of Aurora, was the beneficiary of two claim checks that Palin had issued.

Palin admitted her fraudulent payments to company investigators, according to the AG’s Office, and said she gave payments to herself, Brassfield and a former Thornton police officer, Malee Lor, 47. In total, Palin was accused of issuing 64 fraudulent payments totaling $268,530 between 2018 and 2020.

Of that total, Lor reportedly received $31,495 and Brassfield received $23,344. The rest was used by Palin to pay off gambling debts and also assist with her sister’s medical bills.

“Consumers are the biggest victims of insurance fraud, because we all pay higher premiums when fraudsters strike,” said Weiser, whose department prosecuted the case. “We will prosecute and hold accountable anyone who tries to take advantage of the system.”

The sentence was announced Tuesday by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser The case had been referred by the insurance company to the Financial Fraud Unit in the Criminal Justice Section of the Colorado Department of Law, which is part of the AG’s Office.

Palin was sentenced to 20 years of probation and ordered to pay the $268,530 back in restitution to the state. She is also required to seek treatment for gambling addiction and is forbidden from setting foot in a casino or gambling, in addition to serving 48 hours of community service and participating in a victim impact panel.

Palin’s associates were sentenced earlier this year. On May 6, Lor was sentenced to 10 years of probation and 120 hours of community service. On July 22, Brassfield was sentenced to eight years of probation and 80 hours of community service.

Coloradans can report fraud to the attorney general at stopfraudcolorado.gov .

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