Fraudsters Guilty: Insurance Scams Exposed

Photo byAlexander MilsonUnsplash

Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler's office announced on Tuesday that three suspects have pleaded guilty to collecting thousands of dollars in insurance fraud.

Ahmed Mesbah of Qatar, formerly from Seattle, has pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court to two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, according to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

On April 23, 2023, Mesbah filed a motor vehicle theft claim with GEICO, claiming his 2011 Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle (valued at $11,253) was stolen, the OIC reports. Months earlier, he reported his 1998 Toyota RAV4 as stolen and received $8,860.64, according to the OIC.

An investigaton by GEICO revealed both of Mesbah’s vehicles had been exported to Liberia in October 2012, OIC officials say.

Mesbah has since withdrawn his claims for the stolen Honda and repaid the $8,860 he received from his fraudulent Toyota claim, Kreidler's office reports. He will serve 24 months’ probation and pay $500 in court fees, the OIC reports.

Mesbah has been on Kreidler’s Insurance Fraud Most Wanted list since 2013, when he filed two claims for stolen vehicles that he had shipped to Liberia,

A second insurancer fraudster, Duy Thai, has pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulent insurance claim in May and June in King County Superior Court, the OIC reports.

The Kent man was recently convicted after the Kent home where he lived with his parents was burglarized on Jan. 14, 2022, according to the OIC. Thai handled the claim with American Family Insurance, since his parents were not fluent in English, and filed a claim on their behalf on Jan. 17 reporting $43,130 worth of items as stolen, the OIC reports.

Thai received a check for the missing items after they were recovered and pocketed the money anyway, spending it on a Prada handbag, according to the OIC.

Thai will spend one day in prison and serve 24 months’ probation as well as complete 40 hours of community service, the OIC reports further.

Lesoo Vaafuti, of Pacific, has also pleaded guilty to one count of filing a fraudulent insurance claim in June in King County Superior Court, OIC officials say.

Vaafuti was involved in a single vehicle collision on March 21, 2021, in Maple Valley, which was investigated by Maple Valley police, according to the OIC.

Four days later, Vaafuti bought an auto insurance policy with Progressive for her Nissan Altima and filed a $9,129 damage claim to Progressive, falsely claiming the collision occurred on April 4 when the policy took effect, the OIC reports.

Vaafuti will serve 24 months’ probation and complete 80 hours of community service, OIC officials say further.