CA Commissioner on the Warthpath

[Crabcake Johnny]

Wow...this guy should have his own small personal army.

"What are you in for?
"Robbed a bank - how 'bout you?"
"Underreported my payroll."

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER POIZNER ANNOUNCES ARREST OF BUSINESS OWNER FOR INSURANCE PREMIUM FRAUD

West Hills man faces 4 felony charges
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California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner today announced that Abraham Dvir, 66, of West Hills has been arrested on four felony counts of Premium Fraud, in violation of section 11880 (a) of the Insurance Code. Dvir was booked at the Agoura Hills Sheriff’s Station in Los Angeles County, his bail set at $120,000. If convicted, Dvir would be facing a maximum of 15 years in prison and up to $236,000 in fines.

"Cheating the system creates an unfair advantage and puts employees at severe risk – it simply cannot be tolerated," said Commissioner Poizner. "Small businesses deserve a level playing field, and my department will continue working with its local partners to see that fair play is maintained."

According to CDI Investigators, in February 2010, the Department of Insurance, Fraud Division received a suspected fraud referral from the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) reporting Dvir, the owner of United Painting & Waterproofing Company (United Painting), underreported his payroll to SCIF. According to the referral, SCIF discovered that Dvir had falsified payroll reports for the years 2006-09. United Painting misrepresented the amount of its payroll to reduce the cost of its insurance premiums. The loss of workers’ compensation premiums to SCIF is estimated to be approximately $112,000 over the four year period.

Based on evidence obtained from the investigation, a warrant was issued for Dvir’s arrest on December 16, 2010 and he subsequently surrendered to the Los Angeles County Sheriff. This case was investigated by the Los Angeles Fraud Division of CDI and is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Dvir’s arraignment date is pending.

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[VolAgent]

You'd think this guy never heard of a worker's comp audit. Aren't these done every year to make sure premium is paid on all payroll? Most business owners I know hate them, PEOs use it as a selling point, no audit and writing a big check at the end of the year.

 

[GreenSky]

I think Poizner is trying to position himself for a run for Congress or against Typhoid Jerry in 4 years.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. He's a complete jerk and completely anti insurance carriers.

Rick

 

[Guest]

I think Poizner is trying to position himself for a run for Congress or against Typhoid Jerry in 4 years.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. He's a complete jerk and completely anti insurance carriers.

Rick

C'mon man! You gotta give some credit to the carriers here. They have made it easy for Poizner and soon the new DOI guy, Jones to look really, really "good" (i.e. concerned.) The past year has been one huge PR blunder after another, especially with a VERY LARGE carrier in the state (I won't mention a name because they would probably sue me!)

The carriers have raised rates with little in the way of public explanation, have looked like the greedy 'b---tards" that the media makes them out to be (and have made it really easy for the media to do that,) they have obviously angered the broker community so that we're not "standing up" for them, and taken as an industry, they get little in the way of "sympathy" from the public because they not only sell a lot of crap plans where they make a ton of money but many have an underwriting and rescission "culture" that angers people even more... and makes it hard for anyone to see the carrier's side in the "court" of public opinion.

If I were running a PR agency I'd rather have Jack The Ripper as a client than a health insurance company doing biz in CA!

Personally, I find that at the bottom tier employees... the reps and the agent/customer support people, the level of intelligence is rather high. But have you ever spoken to many of their middle and senior management? Where did these men and women get their MBAs from? Some bible-thumping evangelical college in Hog-Swill, KY?

And you thought GM was the world's leader in being top-heavy with "dead wood" management? You think Dell is the leader in bad customer service (from India?) Think again.

 

[Charpress]

I'm not so sure about this.

Every year I go through a payroll "audit" by telephone to confirm with the carrier what my payroll for the last 3 quarters was. Based on what I tell them, they send me a bill for workers comp coverage. In my state and in this business, it is a fairly small premium.

Now, it would be very easy for me to cheat the company by saying my payroll was substantially less than it is. If I did that, then the bill I get from the carrier would be less.

In that situation, I think I would be guilty of fraud and would deserve being prosecuted.

Would Poizner try to make political hay from my prosecution? Sure. Would I deserve what I am getting? Sure again.

 

[AffordableLife]

One of the problems with California, and in fact the country is you can commit rape, assault, battery and get only a couple of years. (so you can get out and do it again).

But if you cheat a little on paying the Outrageous fees, taxes, premiums etc. you get 15 to life.

I am not saying he is not guilty of a crime, but I would prefer being robbed over being assaulted.