Contra Costa County prosecutors will now have more resources to fight insurance fraud thanks to a $1.3 million grant from the California Department of Insurance.
State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones presented District Attorney Mark Peterson with a giant check in Martinez today to fund the district attorney's office's continued work of aggressively investigating and prosecuting workers compensation, automobile insurance, and disability and healthcare fraud.
The grant money will cover salaries and benefits for at least three prosecutors and three investigators in the district attorney's office's insurance fraud units.
Those staff members work closely with the California Department of Insurance Fraud Division, the Employment Development Department and other state agencies to root out insurance fraudsters whose scams drive up costs for businesses and other taxpayers.
"Insurance fraud costs California's honest consumers and businesses approximately $15 billion per year," Peterson said. "The huge financial burden that insurance fraud imposes on the citizens of Contra Costa County through higher insurance premiums and the increased costs of goods and services is unacceptable."
The partnership between the state insurance department and California's district attorneys, including Peterson, made possible about 800 arrests for insurance fraud and 666 convictions last year, Jones said.
Without the newly awarded grant funding, Peterson said, his office would be unable to allocate the resources Contra Costa County needs to continue the fight against insurance fraud, which remains prevalent in the county.
"The case that gets the headlines is the (violent crime)," Peterson said. "These types of crimes victimize even more people."
Workers' compensation fraud usually occurs when employers underreport how many workers they have and don't buy adequate workers' compensation insurance or when employees file bogus claims, either inventing an injury or exaggerating an existing one, Jones said today.
In addition to funding litigation against workers' compensation and auto insurance fraud, the grant will for the first time provide resources to specifically target car organized crime rings responsible for car insurance fraud, Peterson said.
State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones presented District Attorney Mark Peterson with a giant check in Martinez today to fund the district attorney's office's continued work of aggressively investigating and prosecuting workers compensation, automobile insurance, and disability and healthcare fraud.
The grant money will cover salaries and benefits for at least three prosecutors and three investigators in the district attorney's office's insurance fraud units.
Those staff members work closely with the California Department of Insurance Fraud Division, the Employment Development Department and other state agencies to root out insurance fraudsters whose scams drive up costs for businesses and other taxpayers.
"Insurance fraud costs California's honest consumers and businesses approximately $15 billion per year," Peterson said. "The huge financial burden that insurance fraud imposes on the citizens of Contra Costa County through higher insurance premiums and the increased costs of goods and services is unacceptable."
The partnership between the state insurance department and California's district attorneys, including Peterson, made possible about 800 arrests for insurance fraud and 666 convictions last year, Jones said.
Without the newly awarded grant funding, Peterson said, his office would be unable to allocate the resources Contra Costa County needs to continue the fight against insurance fraud, which remains prevalent in the county.
"The case that gets the headlines is the (violent crime)," Peterson said. "These types of crimes victimize even more people."
Workers' compensation fraud usually occurs when employers underreport how many workers they have and don't buy adequate workers' compensation insurance or when employees file bogus claims, either inventing an injury or exaggerating an existing one, Jones said today.
In addition to funding litigation against workers' compensation and auto insurance fraud, the grant will for the first time provide resources to specifically target car organized crime rings responsible for car insurance fraud, Peterson said.