Eleven Men Charged in Fraud Scheme for Concealing HIV Status to Obtain Life Insurance Policies, Sell Them for Profit
An Eastern District of Tennessee federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted 11 men with mail fraud after they obtained life insurance policies by concealing their HIV-positive status and then sold the policies for less than face value, the Associated Press reports. Three men face additional charges of money laundering in connection with the scheme, U.S. Attorney James Dedrick said. Ten of the men obtained life insurance policies after "falsely denying and concealing" their positive HIV status and then sold the policies, worth about $9 million in total, for a fraction of the face value. Timothy Heath, who did not take out a policy, is thought to have acted as the broker for the illegal sales, receiving a commission on each transaction. Each of the insured men received between $44,000 and $55,650 for their policies, which were worth between $370,000 and $850,000 each (Associated Press, 9/18).
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