January 9, 2019
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Three people were charged in connection with two insurance fraud cases in Kitsap County courts after investigations by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU).
William Boswell IV was charged in King County Superior Court with four felony counts of making a false insurance claim. According to the investigation, Boswell filed 10 false claims from February through May 2017 with four insurers totaling more than $40,000. All of the claims were on renter’s policies for a residence in Port Orchard and involved falsified documentation showing power surges damaged computers and a TV. Two of the companies paid Boswell more than $13,000. All four companies referred the claims to Kreidler’s CIU.
Jason McCown and Taijae McCown, a married couple, of Silverdale were each charged in Kitsap County District Court with one count of filing a false insurance claim, a misdemeanor.
According to the investigation, Taijae McCown filed a claim with USAA on Feb. 3, 2018 after damaging her car when she hit a curb.
USAA denied the claim because the policy had been canceled for nonpayment four days earlier. On Feb. 7, Jason McCown reinstated the policy and then filed a claim on Feb. 9 for damage that matched the earlier claim, saying it was a different collision. USAA denied the claim and referred the case to Kreidler’s CIU.
Kreidler’s CIU investigates insurance fraud and works with the Washington State Patrol and state and local prosecutors on criminal cases. Insurance fraud costs the average family $400 to $700 per year in increased premiums. Insurance companies are required by law to report fraud to the commissioner.
Consumers can report suspected insurance fraud on the insurance commissioner’s website.