June 16, 2022
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Two people pled guilty to committing insurance fraud in King County Superior Court after investigations completed by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU).
Attawwaab Fard, of Kent, Wash., pled guilty to one felony count of filing a fraudulent insurance claim and was sentenced to 30 days electronic home monitoring and ordered to pay $600 in court fees. Abshir Ali, of Tukwila, Wash., also pled guilty to the felony charge of filing a fraudulent insurance claim and was ordered to pay $500 in court fees.
According to the investigation, Fard’s girlfriend was involved in a collision while driving Fard’s vehicle. Because the vehicle did not have any insurance, Fard called Progressive to incept a policy and then later filed a claim trying to get the vehicle damages repaired. Progressive denied the claim since the auto policy was incepted after the accident. A couple weeks later, Fard alleged that his vehicle had been stolen and was damaged during the theft. The damages were the same damages reported in Fard’s prior claim, which had been denied. Progressive opened an investigation into both claims and when Fard failed to cooperate with the investigation, they closed the claims and referred them over to CIU.
Similarly, Abshir Ali was involved in a collision when his vehicle was not insured. He incepted an insurance policy with The General three days after the vehicle collision occurred and alleged the collision occurred the day after he incepted his policy. The General discovered that the vehicle collision pre-dated Ali’s insurance policy and denied his claim for $8,691 to repair his vehicle. The General referred the claim over to CIU, as required by state law.
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.
If you suspect someone of committing insurance fraud, report it to Kreidler’s investigators.