Insurance Fraud Casebook: Paying a Premium for Crime

Getting Rich from the Elderly

JOHN R. HOLLEY

Betty Lincoln (maiden name Thomas) was born in and raised in a small town in Montana. She was the only child of parents who were deeply conservative and moderately religious. Betty's parents were successful business owners, and Betty was accustomed to having everything she wanted. She took several minimum-wage jobs while in high school for spending money.

After high school, Betty attended a local college and majored in marketing. Just prior to her graduation, she attended a sorority party and met a boy named Bob Lincoln. Bob was a recent college dropout whose only dream was to be a long-haul truck driver, and he was about to begin with a big oil company's truck driver training program.

Bob and Betty started dating and a courtship soon developed. They married six months later. After having completed his training, Bob learned that there were plenty of jobs for a truck driver in Alaska. Moving north, he and Betty settled in Wasilla. Bob got a job hauling freight for the oil companies. His pay was good, but Betty soon realized she could not have the lifestyle she craved on his income alone.

Betty took a job as an insurance agent in a local agency where she specialized in handling annuities. The commission was adequate, but she saw the owner of the agency making large amounts of money from her work. Betty longed to keep that additional money ...