OLYMPIA, Wash. – Two Washington men face charges in connection with insurance fraud cases after investigations by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU).
Dr. Jian Xu, 59, was charged in King County Superior Court with first-degree theft, filing a false insuranc [Jian Xu] e claim and forgery, all felonies. He will be arraigned in July 2016. According to the investigation, Xu collected more than $304,000 in long-term disability payments and $55,400 in unemployment benefits that he was not entitled to. Xu collected long-term disability payments from 2006 until 2015 from UNUM Insurance while he was working at several jobs, including higher education and financial institutions. Xu also altered Social Security Administration documents that he submitted to UNUM as proof that he was not eligible for Social Security disability insurance.
Daniel Legeer, 36, was charged with one count of second-degree theft, a felony, and one count of hit-an [Daniel Legeer] d-run, a gross misdemeanor, in Thurston County Superior Court. He pleaded not guilty to both counts and will appear in court in July 2016. According to the investigation, Legeer was involved in an auto collision with another driver in Thurston County on Oct. 14, 2014, and left the scene before police arrived. Later that day, he lowered his auto insurance deductible from $1,000 to $100. The next day, Legeer reported to police that he was the victim of a hit-and-run collision that morning and filed a claim for nearly $4,000 with USAA for damage to his vehicle. USAA paid the claim.
Kreidler’s SIU investigates insurance fraud and works with the Attorney General’s Office and local prosecutors to prosecute criminal cases. Insurance fraud costs the average family $400 to $700 per year in increased premiums. Consumers can report suspected insurance fraud on the Insurance Commissioner’s website.
