Shortly after 9/11, when the entire country was in a state of
absolute Red Alert, a $5 million life insurance claim was received
by a major insurance company. The deceased was a 36-year-old
businessman of Middle Eastern descent. It was reported that he had
taken a trip to his home country to visit relatives, had become ill
and subsequently died.
When asked for the hospital records, the hospital promptly forwarded
them. The family provided the death certificate and other supporting
documentation. But the adjuster's sixth sense kicked in when
everything looked too perfect, and he looked a little deeper. The
insured had no history beyond five years prior to his death. There
was no wife, no US family and no medical records. All of his
property, a considerable amount, had been accumulated in only the
five years. And the beneficiary of the policy, a relative in the
Middle East, was none other than an immediate female relative of
Osama Bin Laden.
A thorough investigation revealed that the insured had never
existed. He had been produced on paper, insured for a very large
amount, and then died on paper. The claim was not paid and the
"grieving relatives" disappeared from the radar.
Was this the first claim of its kind, or had others been presented
and paid before? More to the point, did insurance fraud contribute
to the funding of 911? Most of those familiar with the fight against
fraud would answer "yes" to those questions. Frightening, isn't it?