August 30, 2022
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Ivan Kriger was recently found guilty of insurance fraud for a second time in Spokane County Superior Court.
Ivan Kriger (also known as Evaun Syrah Solomon), of Spokane, was recently convicted of insurance fraud after Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU) completed a second criminal investigation into his filing of false insurance claims. Kriger pled guilty to another charge of filing false claims after he was found guilty by a jury earlier this year.
In this case, CIU’s investigation found that Kriger submitted a claim for damages to the City of Spokane for a paved parking lot he owned. Kriger stated that a contractor the city hired to remove another building parked in his parking lot caused catastrophic damages. He claimed the amount to repair the parking lot would be $279,680.44. The city submitted the claim to Alaska National Insurance Company, which completed an investigation and found that the parking lot had been in disrepair for years and there were no new damages as Kriger had alleged.
Alaska National referred the claim to CIU. In addition, Kriger also filed three claims with Zurich Insurance for a building he owned in Spokane that suffered fire damages. The fire occurred at 5:50 a.m., and it was discovered that Kriger took out an insurance policy with Zurich several hours after the fire happened. He later filed several insurance claims trying to get the fire damage covered. Zurich denied all three of Kriger’s claims for $324,000 and referred them to CIU, as required by state statute.
CIU investigates insurance fraud and works with allied law enforcement agencies and state and local prosecutors on criminal cases. Insurance fraud costs the average family $400 to $700 per year in increased premiums. Insurance companies are required by law to report fraud to the commissioner.
If you suspect someone of committing insurance fraud, report it to Kreidler’s investigators.