A local insurance agent accused of filing insurance claims based on pre-existing conditions in his home entered a not guilty plea during a hearing in Baxter County Circuit Court last Monday.
Mountain Home attorney Ben Barnett entered a not guilty plea for his client, Wesley Allen Proffitt, 49.
Mr. Proffitt is alleged to have expanded coverage for his home to include water leaks and filed a lawsuit claiming he was not informed of the leak until March 4, when he was allegedly informed of the leak in January.
Proffitt is charged with fraudulent insurance practices.
Mr. Proffitt allegedly provided false information regarding claims for payments or benefits with the intent to “deceive, deceive, conceal, or misrepresent” the facts presented to insurance companies in support of his claims. are.
Investigators with the Arkansas Department of Insurance investigated the situation and released a report in late July.
According to court documents, Mountain Home Water Department officials said they observed a work order request at Mr. Proffitt’s residence on Sagnyan Lane in late January.
Water department officials found the leak, but said it was on the property owner’s “meter side” rather than between the road and the meter, so it was the owner’s responsibility to repair it.
After completing the inspection, water department officials said they spoke to a person they believed to be Wesley Proffitt via video doorbell and told him what they had discovered.
On February 22, the same Water Department employee came to Affordable Insurance, where Mr. Proffitt works, to investigate a problem with the restroom. He said Mr Proffitt approached him and told him about a “water issue” at the residence.
The employee cited the service call that two men made to Mr. Proffitt’s home late on January 25th and the fact that he believed information about the service line leak was provided to Mr. Proffitt through the doorbell camera. He said he touched it.
On February 26, just four days after the February 22 conversation with Proffitt at work, he reportedly added service line coverage to his housing policy.
On March 7, Ms. Proffitt reported the breach at her home and filed suit, claiming she was not informed of the breach until March 4.
An insurance company representative interviewed Mr. Proffitt about the fact that only a few days had passed before a claim for new coverage could be filed. Proffitt allegedly said someone had come into the Affordable Insurance office with a $10,000 claim for a water leak and decided he should add that coverage.
He is said to have stated that while the “timing of the allegations seemed a little suspicious,” he knew the circumstances were “just the way they were.” “Either we cover it or we don’t cover it,” he reportedly told airline representatives, adding: “It doesn’t matter either way.”
Mr. Proffitt was also questioned about water department officials allegedly visiting the Sagnan residence in January and discussing the water leak through a doorbell video camera.
Mr Proffitt denied speaking with the man. He said the water department employee must have been talking to his wife or son through the doorbell camera.
He claimed he did not know about the breach until he received a Feb. 28 bill showing that the bill had doubled from the previous month.
Insurance Department investigators allege Mr. Proffitt knew about the breach even before the new service line coverage was added.
Given the timeline, Mr. Proffitt is accused of taking advantage of the newly expanded coverage to make claims about his purported pre-existing conditions. Almost all insurance policies include a pre-existing damage exclusion.
Mr. Proffitt is free on a $5,000 bond.
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