The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-02-02
GIANT INSURANCE SWINDl.E
DYING MEN SAID TO HAVE REEN
INSURED BY PROXY.
An Alleged Conspiracy Unearthed at
Louisville Involves a Half
Hundred Persons,

through the formation of an alleged
conspiracy is to be made the subject
of an investigation in Louisville, New
Albany, Ind, and perhaps other
places.
Governing one point in the al
legged conspiracy warrants were
sworn out today by S. C. Renick, sec
rotary and treasurer of the Indiana
National Life Insurance Company of
Indianapolis for the arrest of John
L. Keane, P. J. Needham and T. T.
| OLeary, insurance inspectors of
Louisville, on charges of conspiracy
to defraud by insuring dying persons
through Misrepresentation
Involves Fifty Persons.
1t is said that the affair involves
in one way or another more than fifty
persons, and relates to fraudulently
obtained life insurance policies to the
value of 100000.
1t is said also that many persons
are involved in the affair. One ply
stefan, it is said, has admitted that
he acted as participant in con-
spiracy by filling out medical certi-
ficates asserting that men and women
| he had never seen were in good
health and constituted good insur-
ance risks. In many cases, however,
it is believed the physicians were inn
posed upon.
In the affidavits S. G. Renick
charges that the defendants in the
employ of the Indiana National Life
Insurance Company and various 9TH
er insurance companies, among 9TH
ers the Independent Life Insurance
Company of Nashville, the Common
wealth Life Insurance Company of
Kentucky, the Standard Life Insur-
ance Company of Des Moines, Ia,
have been guilty of the crime of con-
spring to defraud these insurance
companies and the public generally
by conspiracy between themselves
and certain physicians in this city and
in New Albany, Ind.
Biggest Swindle Yet.
81 believe this investigation now
under way will unearth one of the
biggest insurance swindles ever ex-
posed" said State Insurance Commits
sioner Bell today as he took up the
case of Walter E. Ryder, a teamster,
who died January 4th, and whose
body was exhumed yesterday by the
coroner at the request of certain in
Isurance companies. The death certi-
ficate indicated that Ryder died of
intestinal trouble, but it is reported
that the autopsy which began today
showed large portion of the lung
eaten away, supposedly by tubercu-
losis.
The case was taken up at the re-
quest of life insurance companies of
Indiana and Tennessee, who are said
| ~ NC 1hA sc lOoSlS Ny ISdSOuS VI
grave yard" swindies. These COM
panies, which, it is alleged, have al
ready paid $4,000 on policies issued
in the Ryder case, are excluded from
business in this state, yet it is said
have carried on large business in
Kentucky through an agency at New
Albany, Ind, across the river from
Louisville.
One Mans Body Exhumed.
The scheme worked on the COM
panies is to certain extent an old
one, the company issuing the policy
to men virtually in the shadow of the
grave after having examined a man
of athletic build who was represent
ed as the applicant.
Ryder, it is learned, carried poll
cies on his life aggregating $4,000,
but none of his relatives is named
as beneficiary. Mrs. Mary Quill, a
sister, and Louis Ryder, brother,
made affidavits several days ago that
they believed their brother came to
his death by poisoning, and that he
was victim of foul play. The fam
lily communicated with a life insur-
ance company in Tennessee, and the
matter was taken up in Louisville
yesterday by a representative of that
company and three Indiana compa-
MES. Upon these representations
Acting Coroner Dacher ordered the
body exhumed After the lesion in
the lung was discovered the stom-
ach was removed and turned over to
chemists for analysis.