Blackfoot man facing insurance fraud charges after investigators say he created 20 fake policies
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IDAHO FALLS — A Blackfoot man is facing insurance fraud charges after an investigation by Idaho’s Department of Insurance found he was allegedly using private information of individuals to create false insurance policies and collect the insurance money.
Reuel Burton Christensen, 54, has been charged with 11 felony counts of insurance fraud. Each count carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
According to court documents, Christensen became a licensed insurance provider on June 26, 2019, and started to work for Farmers Insurance Exchange on Dec. 8, 2020.
During November 2021, Christensen created insurance policies for four people.
The first individual was from Lava Hot Springs, with an insurance policy for two vehicles. The second was from Burley with a policy for four vehicles, and the last two victims were from Idaho Falls, and Christensen created an insurance policy for a home for them.
None of the four victims authorized Christensen to create the new policy, and the billing address for all of was in Idaho Falls.
In December 2021, the documents state that Christensen created two additional insurance policies for which two additional victims did not authorize him to create.
On Dec, 15, 2021, a homeowner’s insurance policy was created by Christensen for the fifth victim from Idaho Falls. The following day, Christensen created another homeowner’s insurance policy for a victim in Shelley.
The billing address was the same as the one created in November, and it traced back to the insurance office where Christensen worked.
On Feb. 16, 2022, two more victims were identified from Fielding, Utah, where five vehicle insurance policies were taken out by Christensen without their consent.
Between March and April of that same year, Christensen created a homeowner’s insurance policy and five vehicle insurance policies for a woman in Layton, Utah.
The document states that in May 2022, 10 auto insurance policies were created that affected five additional victims who lived in Salt Lake City, Blackfoot and Pocatello, who never authorized Christensen to create the policies.
In total, 20 false policies were created through Farmers Insurance Exchange by Christensen and, the exchange paid him about $11,739. Christensen made about $390 in commission.
However, $11,349 was charged back once the claims were discovered to be false.
Though Christensen has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.