Zurich Insurance cracks slip-and-fall scheme

Investigators from a Schaumburg-based insurance company are working with federal postal inspectors to unravel a scheme involving nearly three dozen people who sought hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance money by faking falls at retail stores.

The scheme, said Zurich in North America, involved 33 people in Illinois and Wisconsin who would enter a large retail store, find a location outside the view of store employees, and set up a slippery spot on the floor using liquid or paper. Then, while one subject acted as a lookout, another would pretend to fall and claim injury. After managers were called, fraudulent medical claims were filed with the retailer, Zurich said in a release.

The company said the operation persisted over the course of several years and perpetrators, sometimes hitting two or three businesses a day, would collect from $4,000 to $8,000 per incident.

"We believe this scheme began in August 2005 and was still active until February 2009," Brian Wilson, vice president of Zurich's special investigative unit, said in a release.

Zurich is working with U.S. postal inspectors to investigate the scam and no one has yet been charged, said Postal Inspector Lori Groen, based in Milwaukee, Wis. She said the U.S. attorney's office is prosecuting the case.

"No one has been arrested. It's still under investigation, so I can't comment on it at this time," Groen said.

Zurich officials explained the investigation began after they noticed recurring suspicious claims with a large "big box" retailer.

Zurich, a division of Zurich Financial Services Group in Switzerland, said the individuals filed at least 60 claims with 16 insurance companies. Claims were filed under the medical payment portion of retailers' policies, so checks were typically mailed directly to the claimant.

The company refused to release further details about the suspects or where they reside.

"It's still under investigation. We have to protect the clients (retailers)," said Zurich spokesman Steve McKay.

Officials believe the recession may play a part in the scheme as criminals grow more creative in tough economic times.

"The current global economic crisis is spawning new and more creative fraud schemes," said Jane Tutoki, chief claims officer for Zurich in North America.