The Department of Insurance is investigating a Lincoln claims adjuster for alleged $885,000 fraud

Because the Lincoln man has not yet been charged, the Journal Star is not naming him.

But in an affidavit for a search warrant, filed at the suspect’s home on Jan. 2, Detective Charles Starr of the Insurance Department’s Fraud Prevention Division said it began with a tip on Nov. 13 about a claims examiner who worked for American Heritage Insurance Company. group.

The man, who worked from home to review insurance claims on insurance policies, was only allowed to review claims that did not exceed $20,000, Starr said.

He said that when he discovered last year that he had handled a claim exceeding $20,000, it prompted a review of his accident policy with the company. As of November 3, more than $935,000 in claims had been filed under the policy without supporting documentation for “alleged medical services,” with $885,230 paid to accounts he controlled, the investigator alleged.

When the man was asked about the allegations in a Dec. 26 interview at his home in the University Place neighborhood, he said, “It’s really complicated,” Starr said, and went on to describe having to pay a friend’s ransom. Who was kidnapped in Brazil last summer.

Starr came to believe the claims adjuster had invested some money, about $500,000, with someone in Seattle he had never met, after contacting a dating website.

On January 2, Lancaster County Circuit Court Judge Lori Yardley granted law enforcement officers permission to search his home for cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices for evidence of the use of digital currency, texts and instant messages over the past year.

They seized three laptops and two phones, among other items, according to the search warrant.