VOLUME 17    November 2006

SERIAL RACE DISCRIMINATION CLAIMANT TO BE PROSECUTED FOR INSURANCE FRAUD

Susan R. Engle, Esquire and Jeffrey C. Sotland, Esquire

We have recently learned that, following a collaborative investigative effort between Mintzer Sarowitz Zeris Ledva & Meyers and a client's SIU department that spanned nearly four years, a career claimant will be prosecuted by the Pennsylvania Attorney General for insurance fraud. Beginning in early 2002, this office was retained to represent various car dealerships in the Harrisburg area to defend employment discrimination claims asserted by an individual named James Boyce. (In Pennsylvania, a claimant alleging employment discrimination must first exhaust his administrative remedies before filing in court. The Commonwealth's administrative agency is the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission ("PHRC").) In his multiple complaints of discrimination, Boyce repeatedly alleged a failure to hire based upon his race, African American. Our investigation into each of these claims revealed that Boyce would appear at a dealership and fill out an application for the position of "detailer", a position that either did not exist or was not vacant at the time of application. When Mr. Boyce did not get the job (because no such job existed or was available), he filed administrative complaints with the PHRC, alleging failure to hire because of his race.

Early on, we found that we were not the only ones that were aware of Boyce's behavior. Lower level employees at the PHRC, known as "fact finders", either hinted that they knew of Boyce's many claims, or flat out referred to Boyce as a "serial filer." Given the claims history of Boyce, the carrier chose to turn this matter over to their Special Investigations Unit for further investigation. The SIU investigation revealed nearly sixty claims for race discrimination over the course of three years, all of which were filed with the PHRC. Many of these claims were settled for a "nuisance value" of $500 - $1,500. At the conclusion of the investigation, all documents and information gathered by SIU were turned over to the Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Division of the Attorney General's office. After their own follow up investigation, the AG's office has declared that it will be prosecuting Boyce for insurance fraud.

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