Law Firm, Partners Fined $2 Million For “Mass Insurance Fraud Scheme”

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon fined Texas law firm McLenny Moseley & Associates (MMA) and associated partners $2 million for hurricane-related insurance fraud involving at least 850 homeowners and policyholders from Louisiana.

“The illegal insurance scheme perpetrated by McClenny Moseley & Associates is, quite frankly, one of the most egregious cases to ever come through this department,” Donelon said. “The $2 million in fines should warn all bad actors that fraudulent behavior will not be tolerated in Louisiana.”

MMA founding partners James McLenny and John Moseley, and Louisiana managing partner William Huye III were each fined $500,000, the maximum penalty allowed under current law.

MMA has admitted to at least 856 fraudulent misrepresentations that Louisiana policyholders hired it to resolve claims when it did not represent people, according to an ongoing investigation by the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI), LDI said in a news release. .

The law firm’s fraudulent behavior included filing demands for payment, invoking policy appraisal provisions and receiving and negotiating settlement checks without authorization from the policyholder, LDI said.

“According to LDI’s investigation, these unauthorized misrepresentations and legal representations were made by MMA with the intent to harm, defraud, or deceive Louisiana policyholders and policyholders in order to divert insurance claim proceeds to their benefit and charging predatory professional service fees to which they were obligated. he has no right,” said the LDI.

The LDI urged policyholders who may have been “fraudulently represented” by the firm to contact their insurance fraud office.