Sometimes when is conducting an investigation on the subject in a potentially fraudulent insurance claim, the result of the evidence can be more than a simple claim denial. Sometimes there is the potential for criminal charges. This is true in many insurance fraud investigations including:
- Workers compensation fraud investigations
- Long term disability fraud investigations
- Auto bodily injury fraud investigations
- Personal injury fraud investigations or slip and fall fraud investigations
- Product liability fraud investigations
Our investigators know that every case has to be handled as if the data we collect would be used in a court of law. That includes not only videotaped data, computer or cell phone data extracted during a forensics analysis but any other type of information or evidence collected as well.
Therefore, when we are videotaping or recording a subject, the chain of custody for the recordings and the equipment is critical. For that reason, the same investigator(s) are usually called in for follow-up surveillance assignments. The videotapes are copied and the original is archived by . The tapes are kept as long as the client mandates and always until the file is closed. Nothing is destroyed without the consent and approval of the client in writing.
With the chain of custody maintained under tight protocol, our insurance fraud investigators can be witnesses in a court of law if necessary; not only to the evidence collected, but to the collection methods as well.
Insurance fraud can involve several people and be the result of an elaborate plan. One example is a case reported in the Sacramento Bee where five men conspired to defraud an insurance company. The plan was to report a car stolen and then change the appearance of the vehicle in an attempt to hide it to collect an insurance settlement. In cases like these, investigators are able to connect the people involved to each other and provide a larger picture.
Again, how investigators connect the dots and collect the evidence has to follow a strict protocol to be submitted as evidence in a trial. Here at , we handle each inquiry and surveillance as if it were going to trial, whether it actually makes it into court or not.
It is fulfilling to find out the truth during an investigation so clients can make informed decisions. It is even more satisfying to know the evidence we collect can help a client prove it in court.
-Brenda McGinley, CEO, All in Investigations, All in Investigations
