The three were arrested following a six-month undercover operation by the Insurance Fraud Unit with help from the National Insurance Crime Bureau and two insurance companies. Adi was sentenced to 70 years in prison, Ike to 20 years in prison and Henry to a 60-day jail term and seven years probation. Ike disappeared while free on bail and is believed to be out of the country. Falsely claiming that some property has been lost or stolen is one of the oldest of claimant insurance scams. She reported that antique furniture, Persian rugs, crystal and art works were lost.
Most agents are honest, but a few try to cheat and, unfortunately, the elderly are often targets.
Bogus insurance companies are a recurring form of fraud. In July 1998, an Austin district judge enjoined the group from selling car insurance without a license and ordered reimbursement to customers. Jose Cantu of Waller cheated both consumers and an insurance company that once employed him. The company fired him but allowed him to renew and service car insurance policies he had sold previously. Six months after he was paroled in 1996, he applied for another license and lied about his employment history, previous licensure, indebtedness to clients and insurers and cancellation of his appointment by an insurance company.