A Russian national has been charged in the United States with insurance fraud after filing a $20,000 claim for a dead cat that never existed using photos he picked out from the internet, the Seattle Times said.
In March 2009, Tacoma resident Yevgeny Samsonov, 29, was involved in a minor car accident. He filed a claim that included chiropractic treatment. PEMCO Insurance, representing the other driver, paid Samsonov $3,452.
More than two years later, Samsonov sought additional payment from PEMCO, claiming that his beloved cat Tom had been in the car and died in the same accident.
PEMCO issued Samsonov a check for $50 to compensate for the pet, but the man said that he had paid $1,000 for Tom, who'd been like a son to him.” He wanted to be paid $20,000 and sent PEMCO two photos of the cat.
An employee with the insurance company searched Google Images and found the same cat photos appearing on several websites. The two images Samsonov submitted were actually of two different cats, neither of which he owned.
“We’ve handled some pretty unusual fraud cases, but this is one of the stranger ones,” Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler told AP.
PEMCO canceled its $50 check and forwarded the case to Kreidler's office.
