NYSID Announces Arrest of Webster Couple for Insurance Fraud

NYSID Superintendent of Insurance Gregory V. Serio and Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering announced that a joint investigation with Allstate Insurance Company’s Special Investigations Unit has resulted in the arrest of David J. Lanzatella and his wife Suzanne Martin-Lanzatella both of Webster, NY, on charges of insurance fraud.

Mr. Lanzatella, who is employed as a Senior Financial Representative for Principal Financial Group and is licensed as a life insurance agent, allegedly reported to the Webster Police Department that upon returning from a weekend get-away on January 19, 2003, he and his wife, Suzanne, discovered their house had been broken into and personal belongings stolen. They filed a $35,000 claim with Allstate; however, an investigation, initiated by suspicions of the Webster Police Department, revealed that the Lanzatella’s home had not been burglarized.

“Mr. Lanzatella, 38, was charged with insurance fraud in the third degree, a class D felony, attempted grand larceny in the third degree, a class E felony, and falsely reporting an incident in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor. Mrs. Martin-Lanzatella, 36, was charged with insurance fraud in the third degree, a class D Felony, and attempted grand larceny in the third degree, a class E felony, for filing false insurance claims,” said the NYSID bulletin.

They have been arrested and were arraigned in Webster Town Court where bail was sent at $10,000. They were subsequently released on their own recognizance to reappear on May 14. If convicted of these charges they each face up to a maximum of seven years in prison.