Monthly Archives: March 2008

Stupid comp claimant tricks

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I’m old enough to admit I don’t know who Hannah Montana is and I’ve never heard her music. But she must be a huge sensation because people are willing to do foolish things to win tickets to her concerts.

The latest contest was a 40-yard dash for men dressed in women’s clothing, sponsored by a Hartford, Conn. radio station. Apparently, one workers comp claimant had nothing better to do one day last October, so he donned a dress, wig and high heels and entered the competition.

When a local tv station covered the drag race, an alert viewer spotted comp claimant Garrett Dalton, 41, and blew the whistle. It took a while, but Dalton, a corrections officer, was finally arrested this week for workers comp fraud. Being branded a cheat is shameful enough. But having your photo in drag plastered about? That ought to send a signal that cheating workers comp just isn’t worth it.

NICB taps former insurance exec as new COO

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new NICB COOThere’s a new face in the fraud-fighting community this morning. It belongs to Joe Wehrle, former president of USAA Property and Casualty and retired Air Force officer. NICB has tapped him as its new chief operating officer.

This seems to be a strong selection on the part of NICB. General Wehrle has solid management experience in both the military and business. He served as deputy chief of staff for the Air Force overseeing budgeting and training. According to his military bio, he led one of the largest U.S. humanitarian efforts on the African continent, delivering more than two million pounds of critically needed relief supplies to flood-ravaged Mozambique. He served as a master navigator and has logged 120 combat missions and more than 1,800 flying hours.

Wehrle retired from the Air Force in October 2003 and accepted a position with USAA where he led nearly 11,000 employees in six national and two international locations serving five million policyholders. He left USAA in January 2007 when the company restructured its operations.

It’s likely that General Wehrle will be elevated to the top NICB position when current CEO Bear Bryant retires.

General Wehrle’s experience will be needed as NICB seeks to beef up operations and have a greater impact on fraud committed against property/casualty insurers. We look forward to working with him to take fraud fighting to the next level.