April 30, 2021
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Arnold F. Bodner pleaded guilty to one count of filing a fraudulent insurance claim in Island County Superior Court in connection with an auto insurance claim. Bodner will serve 45 days in the Island County Jail starting May 1 and was ordered to pay $1,100 in fines and court fees.
Officials charged Bodner after an investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU).
According to Kreidler’s investigation, Bodner sold his 2006 Hummer H3 to an auto dealer in December 2018 for $4,000. In March 2019, he filed a claim with his insurer, First National Insurance Co. of America (FNICA), for the car’s loss. In his claim, he stated that he had loaned the car to a friend in December 2018 and she sold it without his permission or knowledge and then left the country. The insurer found the paperwork showing Bodner sold the vehicle to a dealership and denied the claim in April 2019. It then referred the case to Kreidler’s investigators.
Kreidler’s CIU investigates insurance fraud and works with the Washington State Patrol 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.
Consumers can report suspected insurance fraud on the insurance commissioner’s website.