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.
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