FEBRUARY 19, 2015
HOUSTON, TEXAS
An ex-worker at a Houston home decor store has pleaded
guilty in a $2 million insurance scam in which customers intentionally fell and
then filed claims.
Sandra Johnson of Katy faces up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors on Tuesday announced the former claims manager at a Garden Ridge
Pottery store pleaded guilty to receiving kickbacks in the money laundering
conspiracy.
According to the allegations, Johnson was employed as a
claims manager by Garden Ridge and was responsible for reviewing and approving
payment for injury claims filed against the retailer by its customers –
commonly referred to as “slip and fall” claims.
Johnson’s sister, Natalie Jeng of Katy, was an adjuster for
a business hired by Garden Ridge to also review the claims and approve
payments. Jeng and two other women earlier pleaded guilty in the scam.
Jeng was allegedly employed as a claims adjuster at
Hammerman & Gainer Inc., a third-party administrator hired by Garden Ridge
to administer and investigate claims.
According to court documents, Johnson, Jeng and others
allegedly conspired to submit false injury claims for which Johnson and Jeng
would authorize payment. The fraudulent
settlement proceeds would then be split amongst the alleged injury victim,
Johnson, Jeng as well as other members of the conspiracy, according to the
charges. In all, 26 allegedly false claims were filed against Garden Ridge
which resulted in the issuance of $2,063,436 in settlement proceeds. The
majority of the settlement payments were made via automated clearing house
(ACH) deposits, an electronic payment method which generally involves the use
of interstate wire communication facilities, according to the complaints.
Drummer and Hall, in addition to allegedly filing false
claims against Garden Ridge in their own names, are also alleged to have
recruited other complicit claimants into the scheme. According to court
documents, when the claimants received their settlements, Drummer and Hall
allegedly assisted in laundering the proceeds by directing the claimants to
make kickbacks in the form of cash or cashier’s checks to other members of the
conspiracy.
Johnson, Jeng and Drummer are also alleged to have traveled
together on Disney Cruise Lines vacations during the time the fraud was being
perpetrated.
Johnson was charged with wire fraud and money laundering in
a criminal complaint filed April 14, 2014. Jeng, Drummer and Hall were each
charged with conspiracy to launder funds in a criminal complaint filed May 23,
2014. If convicted of any of the charges, each woman faces up to 20 years in
federal prison.
YOU LIE, YOU LOSE AND YOU LOSE BIG. DO NOT DO IT.
YOU LIE, YOU LOSE AND YOU LOSE BIG. DO NOT DO IT.