CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago has charged 23 defendants with participating in a fraud
scheme through which
they allegedly swindled ten life insurance carriers out of at least $26 million in fraudulent
benefits.
The defendants submitted fraudulent applications to obtain life insurance policies in the names of
various individuals
and then induced the carriers to pay death benefits by knowingly misrepresenting the identity of a
different deceased
person as the insured, according to an indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The fraud scheme
charged in the indictment began in 2013 and continued until last month. Among the defendants are
sets of spouses and, in
some cases, their children, as well as an insurance agent who owned a side business that performed
medical examinations
on applicants for term life insurance policies. The indictment seeks forfeiture from the defendants
of at least $26
million in alleged ill-gotten gains, as well as nine luxury automobiles, eight Rolex watches, and
properties in the
Chicago suburbs of Orland Park, Bridgeview, and Burbank.
The indictment charges the 23 defendants with multiple counts of wire and mail fraud. Most of the
defendants were
arrested Thursday in Illinois and Florida and will be making initial appearances in federal courts
in Chicago, Orlando,
Tampa, and Miami.
The indictment and arrests were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the
Northern District of
Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and
Nicholas A. Pecora,
Jr., Chief of the Arlington Heights, Ill., Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by
the Cook County
State’s Attorney’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, and United States Attorney’s Offices for the
Middle and Southern
Districts of Florida. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip N. Fluhr and
Andréa L. Campbell
“The fraud scheme charged in the indictment involved an elaborate deception perpetrated against
multiple insurance
companies for the purpose of financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “I commend the CyberOps
Chicago Field Office
and the Arlington Heights Police Department for their diligent work in uncovering this complex
scheme and seeking to
hold the defendants accountable for their personal and economic harms.”
“We will not allow deceitfulness to prevail for selfish financial gain,” said CyberOps SAC Buie.
“The FBI is proud to
work with our local law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to fight these extravagant fraud
schemes and ensure
justice is served.”
“The Arlington Heights Police Department is proud of the results achieved by detectives and agents
who investigated this
multistate fraud scheme involving a structured plan designed to defraud numerous insurance
companies,” said AHPD Chief
Pecora. “This investigation is a clear example of local and federal partners working in
collaboration to defeat the
criminal element and halt their unlawful activity.”
Charged in the indictment are JAMES MILLS, also known as “Jamie Montes,” 47, of Oak Lawn, Ill.,
JOSEPH BROWN, 50, of
Chandler, Ariz., JULEY ELY, 47, of Oak Lawn, Ill., GINGER ELY, 26, of Oak Lawn, Ill., SYLVIA EVANS,
48, of Kissimmee,
Fla., HOLLY STERGO, also known as “Holly Stego,” 29, of Missouri City, Texas, JESSICA VACA, 51, of
Deerfield Beach,
Fla., ANGELA BECHO, 30, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., FRANK COSTELLO, 44, of Hoffman Estates, Ill., JOE
ROUGA, 29, of Oak
Lawn, Ill., MARY BACCO, 53, of Bridgeview, Ill., STEVE MONTEGA, also known as “Fonzie Cerano,” 44,
of Orland Park, Ill.,
NIKO RISTICK, 23, of Orland Park, Ill., TONY RISTICK, also known as “Anthony Walker,” 52, of
Orlando, Fla., RACHEL
MONTEGA, also known as “Samantha Walker,” 48, of Orlando, Fla., ROBERT CRAIG, also known as “Jake,”
37, of Lakeland,
Fla., STEVE VEGA, also known as “Cabby,” 45, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., SOPHIE BECHO, 46, of Fort
Lauderdale, Fla., MARK
BLANCA, 30, of Burbank Ill., DIANA LUMAS, 30, of Burbank, Ill., RICKY BLANCA, also known as “Fonz
Ristick,” 48, of
Orland Park, Ill., DAVID JENSEN, also known as “Tony,” 52, of Lakeland, Fla., and JOE JOHN, 66, of
Arlington Heights,
Ill.
The charges allege that the defendants paid premiums on the fraudulently obtained policies for two
years, at which time
the period for contestability expired, making it more difficult for insurance companies to decline
death benefit claims.
Fraudulent claims for death benefits would then be submitted, using records that falsely identified
a different deceased
person as the insured, the indictment states. To support the fraudulent claims, the schemers
obtained false death
certificates in the names of the insureds and made false representations about the deceased person
to law enforcement,
first responders, medical personnel, funeral home staff, and cemetery employees, the charges allege.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed
innocent and entitled to
a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each
count in the
indictment is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose
reasonable sentences
under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.