Evening journal., 1895-05-31
FRAUDS DETECTED.
SCHEMES FOR sWlNDLlNe INSURANCE
COMPANIES.

II
companies has increased tenfold the oppor-
tunitics for presenting and pressing fraud
ulent Slaims TO simulate death i'm order !
TO obtain payment under a policy Of life in
surance requires much more scheming and
also the cooperation Of more than one CON
federate; but to q man who regards money
as OF greater worth than a limb, an acci-
dent insurance policy offers golden oppor-
tunities for fraud. Perhaps the most as
founding instance of nerve on the part of
would be insurance defrauder was shown
by the man who crawled under railroad
station platform and placed his hand under
the wheels Of passing train. He had only
to put his hand on the rail while the train
was ia motion, and the wheels naturally |
did the rest.
The crippled individual was congratu-
lated by the bystanders on his narrow es-
cape from q terrible death, and his expia- |
nation that he had stumbled and fallen |
half under the train was not questioned. |
But before the company paid the claim it |
naturally wanted an explanation as to Why |
1t was no one had seen the man stumble and |
fall, and a detective was sent to look into |
! the circumstances. The detective hunted |
ZIP number Of bystanders and, finding |
that none of them could throw any light on
the subject, he next inquired into the mans
character The answers he received con-
! flrmed his suspicious, and he commenced
doing a little investigation on his own ac-
count. His first efforts We're not crowned
with very signal success, but when lie
crawled under the platform he found the
mystery solved for him.
1t had been no ones business to clear
away the dust and rubbish which had col
lected for years under the old platform, and
it was easy TO see where the man had
crawled. as he had left q regular trail be-
hind him in the dust Following this trail,
the detective found It led rs he expected,
toward the track, and on one Of the fore
most joists he found evidence Of q severe
bump by mans head, quite a number of
hairs having been torn out in the process.
Collecting these hairs, the detective next
compared them with those on the head Of
the complainant. They We're exactly the
same color and texture, and the doctor who
had attended the injured man recollected a
severe wound at the back Of his head
which would naturally be caused by a man
lying on the ground and suddenly raising
his head with jerk.
The claimant was taken to the platform
and the theory of the detective explained
to him. 1t was argued that he deliberately
crawled under the platform and placed his
, hand on the rail in front of the last car
, The blow on the back of the head was evi-
IDENTIFY the result Of aterrible nervous shock
which he had undergone, which had caused
! an involuntary motion Of the spine and
neck. A smart man of a legal turn Of mind
/ | might have been able to bluff it out and to
defy the company to prove so improbable a
story. But the claimant had more nerve
+ than sense. He promptly weakened and
took the advice Of the detective, which was
/ to get out Of the way before lie was arrest
ed. In this case the way Of the transgress.
OF was hard, for he lost his hand, premium
and all, paying dearly for a self imposed
lesson.
Another case in which a man Is supposed
10 to have preferred q sum Of money down tC
the use OF one Of his hands occurred III New
II York state, where a man, now deceased
Il claimed compensation for lost hand under
very peculiar circumstances. In company
with a doctor he went ont hunting, and
= when he returned he had left behind him
q his left hand He had received. careful
surgical attendance, and his wound was TIED
up in regulation style. lie made his claim
z with perfect confidence, explaining that hl
"a had shot his left hand Off accidentally. TIL,
doctor confirmed the story, and considera
i bic argument ensued. 1t was freely sug
- gested that the doctor had been taken OF
the trip for the express purpose Of ampu
tating the hand, and q strong case wa
'e made in this direction. There was, how
% ever, nothing but inference on the com
re pany's side, and the claim was compre
10 missed.
70 A Pennsylvania agency was caught by
or somewhat similar trick. A man who hat
tried his hand at various professions ant
Z found them all failures, took out an insur
y ance policy for accident, first taking tn
precaution to move a couple of hundre
miles and assume n fictitious name.
q, month later he got caught in a thrashin
Il machine, and by aid Of the men who helpe
pull him out was able to put in an appal
IN emily unanswerable claim for compensi
s tion for the loss of a leg. lie had no bus
M ness to take him to the machine, and tina
was the only weak point In his case. Sti
there was nothing to justify delay, and til
% claim was paid. if the claimant had agai
~ moved 200 miles and kept his own counsl
on all would have been well from his point {
view, for in an incredibly short space {
er time the thrashing machine victim WI
able to walk with the aid Of an artificii
W, limb.
al But prosperity was too much for Il
.in schemer who ate, drank and was merr
X and as usual under those circumstances
n gan to talk more freely than was qui
wise. In q saloon one evening ne bruEb'
loudly Of how he had beaten the compan
~ explaining that he had lost his leg 10 yea
before, and that all he had lost in Il
threshing machine was the willow subs
OF tute with Just enough Of his own flesh az
NJ bone to deceive the doctor. A good deal
Is wonder had been expressed at the ca
manner in which he took to an artifici
u leg, and this lent considerable color to
story. Investigation quickly proved tn
he had for once at any rate told the trut
les He was made to disgorge all Of the insuran
ran money he had not spent, and by this mea
the escaped prosecution. The case is chic
day remarkable for the perfect success Of I
trick and the case with which it was carTi
- out-New Orleans Times-Democrat.
ay