February 22, 2019
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Alex Mullen, 31, of Seattle, was found guilty in King County Superior Court of one count of filing a fraudulent insurance claim in connection with an auto insurance claim. He was sentenced to serve 40 days in King County Jail, 24 months of unsupervised probation and to pay $500 in court fees.
Officials charged Mullen after an investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU).
According to the investigation, Mullen collided with the vehicle in front of him while he was driving his fiancee’s uninsured 2006 Infiniti M45 in Seattle in June 2017. He purchased a GEICO policy online while at the scene of the collision and filed a claim later that day. GEICO determined the Infiniti was a total loss, with a value of $9,741.
During the claim process, Mullen falsified a bank statement as proof that he purchased the policy before the collision. He later told investigators that he bought the policy after the crash and that he falsified the bank statement. GEICO denied the claim and referred the case to Kreidler’s CIU.
Kreidler’s CIU investigates insurance fraud and works with 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.