Thunder
11-28-2001, 09:32 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/11/28/terror.death.fraud/index.html
ZEBULON, Georgia (CNN) -- A Georgia couple, held on insurance fraud charges for allegedly trying to cash in on a national tragedy, appears Wednesday before a county magistrate court for a bond hearing.
Pike County Sheriff's Department arrested the pair Monday after investigators said Charles Allen Gavett, 44, had falsely reported the death of his wife, Cynthia S. Gavett, 40, in the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
Sheriff Jimmy Thomas told CNN that the Gavetts' insurance company telephoned his office November 10 to verify that Mrs. Gavett lived at the address given on Mr. Gavett's claim and to ask if they were known to authorities.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution cited authorities in Georgia who said the Gavetts remained at their residence in Concord, a small town about 45 miles south of Atlanta, after the World Trade Center tragedy.
"It just so happened that I knew of the family," Thomas said. "We're a small county. We contacted some of the locals in the area and they verified that they had seen her since the 11th, and then at that point we notified both the New York police and the insurance company."
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said both Thomas and the Gavetts' insurance company contacted his office early last week, prompting the state investigation.
Thomas said that Gavett filed a missing person report with the New York Police Department shortly after terrorists hijacked commercial airliners and flew them into the city's World Trade Center towers.
He claimed his wife "had a 9 a.m. appointment on September 11 with a financial services firm in the building," Thomas said.
On September 29, Gavett e-mailed Minnesota Life Insurance Co. to notify them of his claim, and followed up on October 2 with a phone call.
Oxendine said the Gavetts' 14-year-old daughter "signed an affidavit that indicated her mother was missing."
"But at this time we don't suspect that she had any criminal intent," the commissioner said. "We're not at this time impugning her in any way."
Oxendine said, however, that the local district attorney could file additional charges -- such as contributing to the delinquency of a minor for having the child sign a false statement -- against the parents.
"We only deal with the insurance fraud," he said. "Anything else would be the district attorney."
The insurance fraud charges against the Gavetts are felony charges that carry up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.
--CNN
ZEBULON, Georgia (CNN) -- A Georgia couple, held on insurance fraud charges for allegedly trying to cash in on a national tragedy, appears Wednesday before a county magistrate court for a bond hearing.
Pike County Sheriff's Department arrested the pair Monday after investigators said Charles Allen Gavett, 44, had falsely reported the death of his wife, Cynthia S. Gavett, 40, in the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
Sheriff Jimmy Thomas told CNN that the Gavetts' insurance company telephoned his office November 10 to verify that Mrs. Gavett lived at the address given on Mr. Gavett's claim and to ask if they were known to authorities.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution cited authorities in Georgia who said the Gavetts remained at their residence in Concord, a small town about 45 miles south of Atlanta, after the World Trade Center tragedy.
"It just so happened that I knew of the family," Thomas said. "We're a small county. We contacted some of the locals in the area and they verified that they had seen her since the 11th, and then at that point we notified both the New York police and the insurance company."
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said both Thomas and the Gavetts' insurance company contacted his office early last week, prompting the state investigation.
Thomas said that Gavett filed a missing person report with the New York Police Department shortly after terrorists hijacked commercial airliners and flew them into the city's World Trade Center towers.
He claimed his wife "had a 9 a.m. appointment on September 11 with a financial services firm in the building," Thomas said.
On September 29, Gavett e-mailed Minnesota Life Insurance Co. to notify them of his claim, and followed up on October 2 with a phone call.
Oxendine said the Gavetts' 14-year-old daughter "signed an affidavit that indicated her mother was missing."
"But at this time we don't suspect that she had any criminal intent," the commissioner said. "We're not at this time impugning her in any way."
Oxendine said, however, that the local district attorney could file additional charges -- such as contributing to the delinquency of a minor for having the child sign a false statement -- against the parents.
"We only deal with the insurance fraud," he said. "Anything else would be the district attorney."
The insurance fraud charges against the Gavetts are felony charges that carry up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.
--CNN