The Washington State Legislation that created the Special Investigations Unit also mandated that the Insurance Commissioner appoint a 10 member volunteer board to advise him on the fraud program.

The board includes representatives from the insurance industry, consumers, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a county prosecutor, and law enforcement.

Insurance Industry

Ethan VanderLugt – State Farm Insurance

4 year term

Mr. VanderLugt is currently the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Section Manager for the Pacific Northwest Zone for State Farm Insurance. He has been with State Farm for 21 years.

Education:

B.A 1989 University - Calvin College

Associate in Claims (AIC) 1994

Legal Principles Claims Series (LPCS) 1999

Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) 2007

Experience:

1990 - 1991 - Property Claims Representative, Grand Rapids, MI

1991 - 1993 - Bodily Injury Claims Representative, Holland, MI

1993 - 1998 - Property/Bodily Injury Claims Representative, Fort Worth, TX

1998 - 2002 - Field Team Manager, Fort Worth, TX

2002 - 2003 - First Party Team Manager, Fort Worth, TX

2003 - 2005 - Injury Claims Central Team Manager, Dallas, TX

2005 - 2006 - Auto Claims Central Team Manager, Dallas, TX

2006 - 2011 - Auto Field Section Manager, Oregon

2011 - Present - SIU Section Manager - Pacific Northwest Zone (AK, HI, OR, WA, MT, ID)

Molly Matthys – Safeco Insurance

4 year term

Ms. Matthys is currently the Special Investigations Unit Regional Manager for Liberty Mutual. She has been with Liberty Mutual/Safeco for 12 years, 10 of those with the Special Investigations Unit. She has held positions of Casualty Adjuster, Special Investigator, and has been a manager for the last 5 years. Ms. Matthys has been a member of Puget Sound Special Investigators for 10 years and has served as secretary.

Education and Experience:

B.A. Business Administration, University of Washington

Fraud Claims Associate

In addition she has completed numerous interviewing and investigative courses.

Bill Baldwin – Insurance Brokers & Agents of the West

4 year term

Education and Experience:

Business Major, University of Nevada

Mr. Baldwin is currently the president of Baldwin Resource Group located in Bellevue, Washington and chair of the Strategic Planning Committee for Insurance Brokers & Agents of the West.

His past positions include: President, Washington Institute for Policy Studies, Chairman, Raleigh, Schwarz & Powell, Inc., COO, Addington, Baldwin & McDaniel, Inc., President and Founder of Insurance Associates, Claims & Field Manager, Fireman’s Fund, Police Officer, Reno Police Department, Reno, NV, and Law Seminars International Adjunct Faculty.

Mr. Baldwin also has served on the following: Washington State University, Committee Chairman, Board of Advisors, Business School Program Past Board of Advisors Member, Washington State Insurance Commissioner, Past Governor’s Hazardous Materials Committee Member, American Legislative Exchange Council (National Association of State Legislators), Maritime Alliance of the Pacific Northwest, Foundation for Economic Education, and Washington Council for Private Education.

Edward L. Hewitt, Sr. CFE - Premera Blue Cross

4 year term

Education:

BS in Police Science and Administration, Washington State University

MS course work in Criminal Justice, Chiminade University

Washington State Basic Law Enforcement Academy, Burien, WA

Washington State Reserve LE Academy, Vancouver, WA

Experience:

Mr. Hewitt has been the Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) for Premera Blue Cross since February 2009 where their team’s vision is, “To be a leader in protecting consumer interests through education, prevention and detection of health care fraud and guiding a company-wide anti-fraud strategy.”

His investigative experience includes that of Sr. Investigator for Blue Cross of Idaho and as a major crimes detective with the Vancouver, Washington Police Department, retiring in July 2005. While at Vancouver Police Department, he lead and coordinated complicated White Collar Crimes. He investigated insurance and securities fraud, real estate fraud, organized crime, identity theft, embezzlement, and Internet and computer crimes. Mr. Hewitt has been honored for his work in leading and coordinating joint investigations with the FBI, US Postal Inspector’s, and the US Secret Service.

Mr. Hewitt has been recognized as a Subject Matter Expert on Identity Theft with the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC); the Multi-jurisdictional Counter-drug Task Force Training (MCTFT); and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C); while in this capacity served as an adjunct instructor developing and conducting training for law enforcement investigators across the nation. He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner and past-president of the ACFE – Boise, ID Chapter.

His resume includes 20 years with major national retailers in positions such as Operations Manager, Human Resources Manager, Group Security Manager, and Store Security Manager in the states of California, Washington, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Oregon.

Fleming, Jeannie - Enumclaw Insurance Group

4 year term

Experience:

Ms. Fleming is currently the Vice President of Claims for Enumclaw Insurance Group (Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Company & Enumclaw Property and Casualty). She has been a member of the claims department since 1980; serving previously as a Claim Department CSR, Claims Adjuster, Claims Examiner, Field Office Manager, and Director of Field Operations.

Education:

Bachelor of Arts Degree, Central Washington State College

Certified Leadership and Coaching, Performance Leadership Group

Insurance Management, Swiss Re Academy

Licensed Property & Casualty Agent, Washington State

Financial Management for non-Financial Insurance Executives, University of Wisconsin

ICAR Certified

Supervision Certification, Green River Community College

Consumers

Kent Davis – Law Firm Technology Specialists

4 year term

Education and Experience:

Mr. Davis founded Law Firm Technology Specialists in 1994, a consultancy thatdevotes itself to technology, with specific application to the legal profession. Before entering private practice as a consultant to law firms, Mr. Davis filled the role of administrator to small, medium and large law firms for more than 15 years. Because of his intimate knowledge of law firm operations, he has conducted bar association CLE presentations where he is able to discuss the needs of the lawyer, paralegal, accounting staff, and other personnel, combining human resources, existing practices, and technology into his subject matter. Mr. Davis has also authored numerous articles published in bar association journals. He attended Bradley University, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and West Los Angeles School of Law.

In addition to the above, he spent four years in the insurance industry as a pre-trial field investigator, claims representative, and claims supervisor in first party property and third party liability claims units of two large insurance carriers.

Jean Mathisen – AARP Washington Fraud Fighter Call Center

4 year term

Education:

B.A. University of California, Santa Cruz

M.P.A. University of Washington, Evans School of Public Affairs

Experience:

Ms. Mathisen has 25 years of management experience in the not-for-profit sector. Prior to joining AARP, she served as the program director for Senior Rights Assistance; a consumer education program of Senior Services of Seattle/King County, where she created a victim advocacy program serving crime victims age 60 and older. She also managed the agency’s partnership with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner as the King County sponsor of the SHIBA program.

Ms. Mathisen has been the director of the AARP Washington Fraud Fighter Call Center since it opened in 2006. She manages a team of 55 paid and volunteer staff who specialize in consumer education and fraud prevention whose primary audience is comprised of individuals who fit the AARP demographic. In the past four years they have communicated with more than 300,000 people of all ages to better understand their rights and responsibilities as consumers.

National Insurance Crime Bureau

Dana MacDonald – Director of Operations NICB

4 year term

Education and Experience:

Mr. MacDonald graduated from Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, in June 1971 with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree with a major in Accounting. He worked for Callan, Delucchi, and Swanson Certified Public Accountants, Santa Clara, California while attending college and after graduation. He became a Senior Accountant/Auditor and obtained his CPA.

Mr. MacDonald entered the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, on June 11, 1972 and retired from the FBI on June 30, 2002 after a 30 year career. While with the FBI he served in the Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Seattle Divisions. In February 1995 he was promoted to the position of Supervisory Special Agent in charge of the FBI Seattle Division White Collar Crimes Squad specializing in bank and insurance fraud. During this time he established the FBI’s first Computer Crimes Squad in the Northwest.

In June 2002, he was hired by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) for the position of Director of Operations for Area 2 whichcovers an eight state area of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado.

Prosecutor

Joe Wheeler – Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office

4 year term

Education:

Mr. Wheeler is currently the Senior Deputy for the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office.

He graduated in 1982 from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Science, Psychology, and also obtained his law degree from the University of Puget Sound in 1986.

Experience:

His experience includes 19 years as an aggressive felony attorney involving trials for murder, complex fraud, vehicular homicide, theft, rape, forgery, assault and drug manufacture. He is experienced in trials involving expert testimony including forensic accounting, physical injury analysis, arson reconstruction, chemical analysis, accident reconstruction, and handwriting and document analysis. Mr. Wheeler has participated in all phases of criminal prosecution including initial collaboration with investigators, search warrant preparation, direction of additional follow up investigation, charging decisions, special inquiry proceedings, preliminary hearings, pretrial memorandum, suppression hearings, 3.5 hearings, trial briefs, and appellate work for both personal restraint petitions and for post-conviction appeals including successful argument in front of the Washington State Supreme Court. He is a founding member of the Thurston County Fraud Task Force, a member of Fraud-Net, and the Thurston County contact person for National White Collar Crime Center.

Law Enforcement

Steve Boyer – Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office

4 year term

Mr. Boyer has been the sheriff of Kitsap County since 1998.

Education:

Bachelor of Arts, Law and Justice Degree with Honors, Central Washington University

Southern Police Institute, Graduate Level Studies, University of Kentucky at Louisville

Graduate, FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development

Graduate, Emergency Management Institute course in Integrated Disaster Management

Graduate, Southern Police Institute Administrative Officers Course

Graduate, National Sheriffs Association Sheriff executive training

Graduate, Management for Excellence conducted by the Boeing Company

Experience:

Mr. Boyer was elected sheriff of Kitsap County after serving twenty-six years with the Washington State Patrol. As sheriff he prepares and executes an annual budget that exceeds $27 million.He is responsible for over 250 employees and provides primary safety and security to the 70% of Kitsap County citizens who live in unincorporated areas. His twelve plus years of experience as Kitsap County’s Sheriff includes his management of deputy patrol, jail services, SWAT team, Search and Rescue, and the Marine Patrol.

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