Two N.C. Insurance Investigators Honored for Anti-Fraud Work

Two investigators with the North Carolina Department of Insurance, Chet Effler of Marion, N.C., and Martha Ann Ford of Chester, S.C., have been honored for their work on insurance fraud cases in 2006.

Effler received an award from Travelers Insurance Co. and Ford was commended by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Insurance Commissioner Jim Long was on hand at the event to congratulate the two law enforcement officers.

A DOI investigator since 2004, Effler was a detective sergeant with the Marion Police Department and then a state magistrate in Marion before joining the DOI. During 2006, he has achieved five convictions of individuals involved in insurance fraud and secured recoveries and restitution of $113,000. He recently headed the investigation into a large staged accident ring that resulted in the arrest of 10 people in the Shelby area.

Ronnie Dean and Walt Woloszczuk, special agents with the National Insurance Crime Bureau, presented Ford her award. Her work, he told her, “resulted in over two million dollars ordered in restitution and unknown millions of dollars in savings to the insurance industry. Your initiative, your leadership and attention to detail were a major component in the successful resolution of these cases. These cases literally could not have been successful without your efforts.” The NICB is a nonprofit organization that partners with insurers and law enforcement agencies to facilitate the identification, detection and prosecution of insurance criminals.

During 2006, Ford was responsible for eight convictions in state and federal courts of individuals involved in insurance fraud in North Carolina, as well as over $2 million in recoveries and restitution. She is considered an expert in health care fraud matters. She was a former FBI special agent and was a special investigator in the insurance industry prior to joining the Department of Insurance in 1996.

“Insurance fraud costs us all money through higher premiums when insurance companies have to pay for fake claims,” said Commissioner Long. “It is only through the partnership of law enforcement officials such as Chet and Martha Ann with insurance companies and groups like the NICB that we will ever put a stop to these costly crimes.”

Source: www.ncdoi.com