February 11, 2026
Buying a house? Beware of seller impersonation fraud.
One of the fastest-growing real estate scams targets vacant or unoccupied houses for sale.
It starts with someone forging documents to sell a house they don’t own. They list a house below market value and accept a quick offer – with a preference towards cash buyers – to steal the money from the sale.
Put your guard up if a seller:
- Tells your agent they only want a cash buyer.
- Doesn’t show up for closing or asks to sign documents electronically.
- Asks for a remote notary at signing and wants to use their own notary.
- Asks that the money from the sale go directly to them.
Some tips:
- Visit the house you want in person. Only the real homeowner can give your agent the key.
- Ask your agent to use a trusted in-person notary at closing.
- Buy title insurance. Your real estate agent will likely recommend it and your mortgage company will probably require it. Title insurance protects you from problems with an ownership title.
Report fraud to the Texas Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, and your local police.
Learn more
- What is title insurance? Why do I need it for my new house?
- Red Flags and Best Practices (PDF) from the Texas Land Title Association
- FAQ: Title insurance
October 10, 2025
Business owners charged after defrauding COVID-19 relief program
Five Rio Grande Valley business owners face 20 years in prison for submitting fraudulent loan applications to get $685,800 from a federal relief program.
Sandra Pope Solis, Lesley Chavez, Rolando Santiago Benitez, Bernardo Gomez Jr., and Edgar De La Garza were arrested in August for falsifying tax and business documents to inflate the amount of financial help they could get from two Small Business Administration (SBA) aid programs. The programs help small businesses with payroll costs, rent, and loss of revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They were taking funds away from other small businesses that may be in need,” said Chris Yates, the McAllen-based TDI Fraud Unit investigator who conducted interviews and analyzed records to help build the case.
The FBI and SBA’s Office of Inspector General led the investigation.
If you suspect insurance fraud, call TDI’s Help Line at 800-252-3439 Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time.
September 11, 2025
TDI investigators crack down on insurance fraud
Consumers, insurance companies, health plans, and others have filed about 22,000 cases of suspected insurance fraud with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) this year.
Licensed peace officers in TDI’s Fraud Unit investigate insurance fraud to build court cases that district attorneys can use to punish scammers.
The most common types of fraud schemes are:
- Insurance agents selling fake policies or pocketing premiums.
- People padding auto accident claims or filing a claim for an accident or theft that never occurred.
- Homeowners padding claims or filing fake claims for burglary and arson.
- Doctors and hospitals over-billing insurance companies for services, billing for services they didn't provide, or performing unnecessary tests and procedures.
Report insurance fraud online or by calling the Help Line at 800-252-3439.
Learn more about how the Fraud Unit investigates suspected insurance fraud on the Texas Insurance Podcast.
Learn more
March 5, 2025
Don’t use third-party mobile payment apps to buy insurance
Protect your money when you buy insurance by paying the insurance company directly.
Some insurance companies offer their own mobile payment apps. Unless your bank approves, you should avoid using other mobile apps to pay for coverage.
Texas consumers have filed complaints about using non-company, or third-party, mobile apps to pay for insurance they never got. They’ve also complained about not being able to get their money back.
"Anyone who tells you to send money for insurance using a third-party mobile app might be involved in a scam," said Cindy Wright, a TDI consumer assistance expert. "Be cautious."
Have an insurance question? Call TDI’s Help Line at 800-252-3439 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time.
Learn more
- How to avoid fraudulent insurance scams
- How to avoid scams aimed at older adults
- How to avoid Medicare scams
February 21, 2025
Dallas man sentenced to 13 years in prison, must pay $4 million in restitution after insurance fraud investigation by FBI and TDI
A judge this week sentenced a Dallas man who steered a multi-million dollar insurance fraud scheme to 13 years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman also ordered Jordan Ford to pay over $4 million in restitution to defrauded insurance companies.
The action capped an investigation by the FBI and Texas Department of Insurance.
Capt. Tyler Hampton of TDI’s Fraud Unit said investigators fielded their first referral from an insurance company suspecting Ford of fraud in 2023. Resulting inquiries revealed that nearly $1 million in claims payments to over 50 consumers had been illegally diverted to Ford and numerous co-conspirators—with other companies similarly defrauded.
“They saw an opportunity, they saw something in the system they thought they could exploit,” Hampton said. “They gave it the old college try—and ultimately got caught.”
Ford, 32, pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to an announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
According to court documents, Ford and his co-conspirators recruited insurance company employees to pull clients’ personal information from legitimate insurance claims.
The employees gave those details to Ford; he then used the information to pose as a client and call the insurance companies to request they update the payment information to accounts he and co-conspirators controlled.
Other times, Ford paid insurance employees to lend him their company-issued laptops, logged onto company systems, and authorized and issued payments sent to accounts he and his co-conspirators controlled.
In total, the co-conspirators misdirected funds from at least three insurance companies, netting more than $4.4 million.
All nine defendants charged in the scheme have pleaded guilty.
If you suspect fraud, call TDI’s Help Line at 800-252-3439.
Learn more
February 13, 2025
TDI prosecutors embed in Texas district attorney offices
State lawyers who fight insurance fraud, pursuing millions of dollars in restitution, work closely with local authorities.
A few Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) lawyers are even sworn in as assistant district attorneys. These attorneys are embedded in district attorney offices from Dallas and Fort Worth to Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.
“District attorneys don't always have the resources or expertise to address insurance fraud as a crime,” said Dallas-based Kyson Johnson, who leads the TDI Fraud Unit’s 20-year-old; prosecutor program. ”Every tip or fraud report that we receive is looked at on a case-by-case basis.”
In 2024, TDI’s Fraud Unit contributed to investigations landing nearly $58 million in court-ordered restitution.
Learn more about TDI’s embedded prosecutors from the latest Texas Insurance Podcast.
Learn more
- About the TDI Fraud Unit
- Report Texas insurance fraud
- Fraud Unit chief prosecutor promoted in Army Reserve
November 15, 2024
FBI-TDI investigation capped by judge sentencing fraudulent pharmacy owner to prison
A judge sentenced a fraudulent Texas pharmacy owner to 10 years in jail after a multi-year investigation by the FBI and TDI.
Ivor Jallah, 37, earlier pleaded guilty to routinely billing insurance companies for headache sprays and pain and scar creams not dispensed to customers. U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay in October also required Jallah to pay more than $41 million in restitution.
Authorities indicted multiple people after a multi-year joint investigation that began when insurance companies alerted TDI’s Fraud Unit to suspected billing irregularities.
Jallah and a co-conspirator operated at least nine Texas pharmacies.
Before Jallah’s sentencing, eight people were convicted and sentenced to a combined 290 months in federal prison. Three co-defendants await sentencing.
Christopher Davis, who heads the Fraud Unit, said: “Every time we catch someone bilking insurance companies and health plans, we’re fighting fraud that can raise everyone’s health care costs.”
You can report suspected insurance fraud by calling TDI’s Help Line at 800-252-3439. It’s open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time.
Learn more
- Pharmacy owner sentenced to 10 years in prison for $41 million health insurance fraud (U.S. Department of Justice press release)
- Tips to avoid fraudulent insurance sales scams (blog post)
- Insurance fraud guide
November 14, 2024
Fraud investigators catch insurance criminals
Insurance fraud happens daily – and it drives up everyone’s premiums.
But TDI fights fraud. About 30 TDI investigators identify and help catch and prosecute people for fraud.
More than 200 TDI Fraud Unit investigations a year lead to consumers getting restitution and criminals facing prosecution and prison time.
Types of fraud include identity theft and not sending your premium payments on to the insurance companies.
Hear more from the unit’s financial analyst in this episode of the Texas Insurance Podcast.
Learn more
- Fraud investigators: How TDI solves insurance crimes (video)
- Report insurance fraud
- Insurance fraud guide
- Fraud investigator helps shut down COVID-19 testing fraud
- How "Doc" Gallagher defrauded investors of millions (video)
October 3, 2024
Fraud investigator helps shut down COVID-19 testing fraud
Multiple health plans were getting COVID-19 testing bills from providers their systems hadn't seen before. The health plans contacted Sgt. Dana with TDI's Fraud Unit, who they worked with on other fraud cases.
"When the system throws up red flags, it means someone needs to look at it," said Dana. "The plans tried to verify the provider and make contact, but they were shell companies."
Dana started investigating and found several fake North Texas-based labs unlawfully using patient information to bill health plans more than $30 million for running COVID-19 tests.
The primary suspect stole patient information from pain clinics where he worked as a contract lab tech. Three friends helped with the scheme.
One patient said he got a letter in the mail saying his health plan was billed for 15 COVID-19 tests he supposedly took. The patient had no idea. He’d taken no tests.
Dana investigated the case with help from several federal agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Department of Labor and Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas.
Four people pleaded guilty to health care fraud. The lab tech got seven years in prison and was ordered to pay back $7 million.
Dana joined TDI in 2019 after retiring from the Arlington Police Department.
He said he likes his job investigating insurance fraud. "I like putting puzzles together. It’s a big puzzle trying to figure out what people are doing, how they’re doing it, and holding them accountable."
Learn more
August 20, 2024
Fraud Unit investigator helps stop human smuggling ring
While working out of the FBI field office in South Texas, Fraud Unit investigator Sgt. Chris helped the federal agency uncover a $2 million human smuggling operation.
Sgt. Chris was investigating an insurance fraud scam when he came across Luis Enrique Moctezuma-Acosta and Scarlett Fuentes-Gavarrete. Moctezuma-Acosta is a Mexican National and Fuentes-Gavarrete is a Honduran National living illegally in Mission near the Texas-Mexico border.
"As we followed the money and did interviews, we found these people that were buying properties – and then found out what they did for a living," Sgt. Chris said.
Moctezuma-Acosta and Fuentes-Gavarrette could afford to buy properties thanks to money raised running a human smuggling ring. Their network, reaching from Honduras to Boston, smuggled 2,400 people into the U.S.
Once people were smuggled across the Rio Grande into the U.S., the self-titled “LEMA” smuggling organization used several methods to circumvent U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints, including tractor trailers, commercial planes, and guides to walk travelers around the checkpoints. They laundered their proceeds through businesses they created, including a used car lot.
"We paused the primary case,” Sgt. Chris said, “and worked on this case to get these people in custody and made sure that everybody was safe.”
In March, Moctezuma-Acosta and Fuentes-Gavarrette pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges. In July, they were each sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. They face deportation after they're released.
Authorities seized over $1.5 million in cash and $2.7 million in luxury vehicles, jewelry, and property. Two other family members pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. The investigation identified one immigrant who died while being smuggled.
Sgt. Chris said of the couple: "I’m glad they’re off the street. They had no concept of the harm they were doing."
Sgt. Chris joined TDI in 2016 after 30 years in law enforcement. Chris works closely with the FBI combatting financial crimes and insurance fraud.
"I love what I do," he said. “I like helping my community and people who can’t help themselves.”
Learn more
August 1, 2024
Tips to avoid fraudulent insurance sales scams
Avoid fraudulent sales scams with these tips:
Beware of unexpected calls. If you didn’t call them first, the salesperson probably found your information on a mailing list.
Don’t buy over the phone. The risk of fraud is greater if you buy insurance over the phone or online. Hang up on callers if something doesn’t sound or feel right.
Never be rushed. Be wary of offers for a “last-chance deal" or other appeals to make a quick decision. Take your time. If someone calls, emails, or mails you an offer, decline it. Next, look it up online to see if it’s true and the company is real.
Watch for scam artists. Be wary of people who say they are from Medicare, Social Security, or any government agency. Medicare doesn’t make sales calls. Also, health plans and annuities are never offered at a discount or sale price.
Keep all documents and take notes. Keep any paperwork you get from an insurance company. Write down the names of people you talk to and details of conversations you have.
Verify agents and companies. Before you buy insurance, call TDI to make sure the agent and company are licensed. We can also tell you a company’s financial rating. Call our Help Line at 800-252-3439. You also can call us to report insurance fraud or ask questions about insurance.
A TDI financial crime investigator helped nab a fraudulent radio host who lured people into signing over their annuities. Hear more on our latest Texas Insurance Podcast.
Learn more
- How to avoid scams aimed at older adults
- How to avoid contracting scams
- Buying a house? Beware of seller impersonation fraud.
- Insurance fraud guide
July 31, 2024
Forensic accountant follows the money to help victims
Vivian says her job as a financial analyst performing forensic accounting is like piecing together a puzzle. Typically, the pieces are bank statements, business records, and other official documents.
It’s Vivian’s challenge to make the pieces fit.
Recently, Vivian helped TDI's Fraud Unit stop two doctors – Desi and Deno Barroga of Dallas – who were overprescribing opioids and falsely billing health plans.
Fraud Unit investigators got Vivian subpoenas for the records she needed. Next, she combed through the doctors' personal and business bank records to trace the $45 million they billed and the $9 million they were paid.
"It's my job to find where that money is and where it's going," Vivian said
TDI's investigators used what Vivian found to help federal agencies, including the FBI, build a criminal case. The doctors pleaded guilty and face up to 10 years in prison.
Aside from stopping criminals, the Fraud Unit also wants to get restitution for victims. Courts can order criminals to pay restitution.
Vivian said: "One way agencies can do that is by seizing their assets. To be able to seize those assets, we have to prove that they were bought with dirty money.”
Before joining TDI, Vivian traced properties and assets for an accounting firm. Her college degree was in finance with an emphasis on business evaluations.
She loves taking rows and columns of numbers on a spreadsheet and making sense of them.
"That's what I love about this job: making sense of the numbers for everyone else. It's my contribution to the team effort."
Learn more
July 25, 2024
Fraud Unit warns local officials about scams
Members of TDI Fraud Unit’s Catastrophe Response Team met with Roman Forest Police Department staff.
Out-of-town scam artists are often the first to knock on doors after disasters. TDI gives tips to avoid scams, like hiring local contractors, getting written bids, and checking references.
Our toolkit for preventing fraud has tips and flyers that city and county officials can use to warn residents about contractor fraud.
After Hurricane Beryl, the TDI Fraud Unit’s Catastrophe Response Team visited city and county officials to talk about the toolkit and fraud prevention.
“Unfortunately, after a big storm we see an influx of criminal activity from scam artists looking to profit from people who are trying to start the recovery process,” said Chris Davis, who leads the Fraud Unit.
To report suspected fraud, call our Help Line at 800-252-3439 or visit our fraud page.
Learn more
- Preventing fraud after a storm: a toolkit for city and county officials
- How to avoid contracting scams
- Do you know the signs of a contracting scam?
March 3, 2023
Insurance fraud could happen to you
Do you think insurance fraud rarely happens or mostly on TV dramas?
Think again.
Last year, the Fraud Unit at the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) got more than 16,000 reports of possible fraud. The unit, which has officers around the state, worked on nearly 400 criminal investigations. It currently has more than 170 ongoing investigations in 40 Texas counties.
Tips to protect yourself from fraud:
- When shopping for insurance, check that the agent you’re working with has a state license. You can call the TDI Help Line at 800-252-3439 or look up the agent on TDI’s website, www.tdi.texas.gov/agent/agent-lookup.html.
- Be wary of buying a policy from anyone who only accepts cash or who wants to meet you only at your home or in a parking lot.
- If someone tells you that you must act today or you'll lose the offer, that's usually a bad sign. Legitimate insurance plans won’t have purchase deadlines. Don't be rushed when shopping for insurance.
- After you buy a policy, call the insurance company to confirm that the policy is in your name.
- If you’re asked to cash in an annuity or some other life insurance policy to buy a different annuity or policy, don't take the bait. Annuities and life insurance products are generally worth more the longer you hold onto them.
Listen to more on stopping insurance fraud in Texas in The Texas Insurance Podcast, featuring Chris Davis of TDI’s Fraud Unit.
View podcast Q&A: What’s insurance fraud?
Learn more
- Fraud investigators: How TDI solves insurance crimes (video)
- Types of fraud
- Insurance fraud guide
- Report fraud
January 5, 2023
Texans, especially older adults, should beware of phone, online scams
Your phone rings, you answer, and someone with a friendly voice asks for your bank account or Social Security number.
Hang up. It’s probably a scam.
Fraudsters tend to target older people, who are often more trusting and vulnerable. Older people are also more likely to talk to someone they don’t know.
In 2021, more than 6,700 Texans over age 60 reported losing more than $159 million to fraud.
Common scams:
- A caller offers to fix a non-existent computer problem or to renew a fraudulent software or security subscription. The caller might even transfer you to fake “customer service” staff.
- A caller pretending to be a grandchild calling from another country and needing hundreds of dollars fast. Once money gets sent outside the United States, it’s very hard to recover.
- A call or email that says you’ve won a sweepstakes or lottery. The catch: You need to pay thousands of dollars to get the bigger prize.
- Someone on the phone or sending an email adopts a fake identity to gain affection and confidence. The scammer builds a relationship with the victim to steal their money.
Learn more
- How to avoid scams aimed at older adults
- How a radio show host defrauded investors of millions (video)
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