Glen Allan Jesshope of Winkler was fined $2,500 after he was found guilty of trying to defraud Manitoba Public Insurance.
Jesshope, 61, claimed his 2007 Dodge Ram was stolen from outside his Roseisle residence in October, 2008. The vehicle was recovered a day later parked under a large water hose which was attached to the community water fill station. The hose had been placed into the vehicle’s passenger compartment, filling it with water. An investigation was then opened by the Special Investigation Unit of Manitoba Public Insurance
Court heard from an expert witness, who explained that the vehicle was equipped with an approved immobilizer, which had not been defeated. Jesshope told court that someone probably stole one of his truck keys during a home break-in a month earlier.
In finding Jesshope guilty of fraud over $5,000, Justice Robert Cummings said he “disbelieved” Jesshope’s testimony.
Manitoba Public Insurance’s TIPS Line is: 204-985-8477, or toll-free 1-877-985-8477. All calls are anonymous. All suspicious claims are handled by Manitoba Public Insurance’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU). The efforts of this special unit resulted in fraud savings last year of more than $9 million for Manitoba auto insurance rate payers. The SIU will investigate about 3,000 claims yearly.
Insurance fraud – automobile, home or health care – costs Canadians more than $3 billion a year in insurance premiums, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Organizations around the world lose an estimated five percent of their annual revenues to fraud, according to a survey of fraud experts conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).
