A Wenatchee man pled guilty to third-degree theft in Chelan County Superior Court, that after an investigation completed by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit.
Steven Frank pled guilty on July 17, and was ordered to pay more than 13-hundred dollars in restitution and $500 in court fees.
On October 1, 2020, Frank was involved in a two-vehicle collision. At the time of the crash, he did not have insurance on his Chevy pickup. Later that day, Frank called Progressive Insurance and purchased an insurance policy on the truck, failing to disclose he had just been in a collision.
The next day, Frank filed a claim with Progressive, stating he had been in a collision after he had purchased the insurance policy. Progressive performed its own investigation, due to the newness of the policy, and found the Wenatchee Police Department received a call reporting the collision before Frank purchased his policy.
After learning there was no insurance in place at the time of the collision, Progressive denied the claim for $3,156.56 and referred it to the State Insurance Department's Criminal Investigations Unit to conduct a criminal investigation — as required by state law.
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.