Athens Insurance Agent Arrested For Submitting False Claims
Wednesday, January 18th, 2017
Former insurance agent Christopher Lowell Jackson, 39, of Athens, was arrested earlier this month on warrants for five counts of insurance fraud and three counts of forgery. Georgia Department of Insurance Fraud investigators determined that Jackson filed bogus watercraft insurance claims and submitted forged documents for personal financial gain.
“Insurance fraud ultimately hurts the Georgia consumer, who ends up paying higher premiums to cover losses,” Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said. “My office will continue to pursue all types of insurance fraud aggressively.”
An investigation by Hudgens’ office revealed that on May 13, 2016, Jackson took out watercraft insurance policies on a 2000 Cobalt 210 boat with both GEICO and Allstate. Between May 15 and Aug. 7, the suspect filed a total of five boat towing claims on the same vessel with the companies touting engine failure off the coast Georgia. He was paid approximately $7,100 for three of the filed claims and withdrew attempts to collect on an additional two.
Following a three-month investigation, fraud investigators concluded that all of the submitted towing invoices by Jackson were fraudulent. Also, with help from the United States Coast Guard and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, investigators determined that Jackson was never in possession of the vessel and that the boat and actual owner were in Kentucky.
On Dec. 19, Jackson surrendered his license to sell insurance in the state of Georgia. He turned himself in at the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 4 and was released on a $8,000 bond. The case will be prosecuted by the Clarke County District Attorney’s Office.
Insurance fraud is a felony with a penalty of two to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.