108-492: Pamela Ann Smart ( née Wojas ; born August 16, 1967) is an American woman who was convicted of being an accomplice to first-degree murder , conspiracy to murder , and witness tampering in the death of her husband, Greggory Smart, in 1990. Smart, then aged 22, had conspired with her underaged boyfriend, then 15-year-old William "Billy" Flynn, and three of his friends to have Greggory (24) murdered in Derry , New Hampshire . She
216-546: A personal name that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a family or clan ) who have a common surname . The term given name refers to a name usually bestowed at or close to the time of birth, usually by the parents of the newborn. A Christian name is the first name which is given at baptism , in Christian custom. In informal situations, given names are often used in
324-477: A power law distribution . Since about 1800 in England and Wales and in the U.S., the popularity distribution of given names has been shifting so that the most popular names are losing popularity. For example, in England and Wales, the most popular female and male names given to babies born in 1800 were Mary and John, with 24% of female babies and 22% of male babies receiving those names, respectively. In contrast,
432-459: A "squat" car. This squat car, which is usually filled with several passengers, then slows abruptly, forcing the driver of the chosen car to collide with the squat car. The passengers in the squat car then file a claim with the other driver's insurance company. This claim often includes bills for medical treatments that were not necessary or not received. An incident that took place on Golden State Freeway June 17, 1992, brought public attention to
540-533: A car registered to an address in rural Pennsylvania are much less than they are in Brooklyn. Another form of automobile insurance fraud , known as "fronting", involves registering someone other than the real primary driver of a car as the primary driver of the car. For example, parents might list themselves as the primary driver of their children's vehicles to avoid young driver premiums. " Crash for cash " scams may involve random unaware strangers, set to appear as
648-611: A character from the movie Splash . Lara and Larissa were rare in America before the appearance of Doctor Zhivago , and have become fairly common since. Songs can influence the naming of children. Jude jumped from 814th most popular male name in 1968 to 668th in 1969, following the release of the Beatles ' " Hey Jude ". Similarly, Layla charted as 969th most popular in 1972 after the Eric Clapton song. It had not been in
756-567: A comprehensive study of Norwegian first name datasets shows that the main factors that govern first name dynamics are endogenous . Monitoring the popularity of 1,000 names over 130 years, the authors have identified only five cases of exogenous effects, three of them are connected to the names given to the babies of the Norwegian royal family. Since the civil rights movement of 1950–1970, African-American names given to children have strongly mirrored sociopolitical movements and philosophies in
864-426: A crown or entering a religious order; such a person then typically becomes known chiefly by that name. The order given name – family name , commonly known as Western name order , is used throughout most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by European culture, including North and South America ; North , East , Central and West India ; Australia , New Zealand , and
972-523: A familiar and friendly manner. In more formal situations, a person's surname is more commonly used. The idioms ' on a first-name basis ' and 'being on first-name terms' refer to the familiarity inherent in addressing someone by their given name. By contrast, a surname (also known as a family name, last name, or gentile name ) is normally inherited and shared with other members of one's immediate family. Regnal names and religious or monastic names are special given names bestowed upon someone receiving
1080-495: A family in the manner of American English Seniors, Juniors , III , etc. Similarly, it is considered disadvantageous for the child to bear a name already made famous by someone else through romanizations , where a common name like Liu Xiang may be borne by tens of thousands. Korean names and Vietnamese names are often simply conventions derived from Classical Chinese counterparts. Many female Japanese names end in -ko ( 子 ), usually meaning "child" on its own. However,
1188-415: A federal criminal offense with punishment of up to ten years of prison in addition to significant financial penalties. Fraud rings or groups may fake traffic deaths or stage collisions to make false insurance or exaggerated claims and collect insurance money. The ring may involve insurance claims adjusters and other people who create phony police reports to process claims. The Insurance Fraud Bureau in
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#17327796019431296-567: A formal transfer agreement with New York; Heath believed the transfer was a "commissioner to commissioner" arrangement. Smart's family maintains they were never informed of the transfer. Although she maintained her innocence, Smart conceded that her husband would still be alive if she had not had an affair with Flynn, a minor. While in prison, Smart has tutored other inmates and has completed two master's degrees with concentrations in literature and legal studies from Mercy College, which were paid for with private funds from Mercy College . Smart became
1404-482: A hyphenated style like Bengt-Arne . A middle name might be part of a compound given name or might be, instead, a maiden name , a patronymic , or a baptismal name . In England, it was unusual for a person to have more than one given name until the seventeenth century when Charles James Stuart ( King Charles I ) was baptised with two names. That was a French fashion, which spread to the English aristocracy, following
1512-504: A judge reduced Randall's minimum sentence by three years to 25 years, making him eligible for release as early as June 2015. Randall was granted parole by the New Hampshire Parole Board after a hearing on April 9, 2015. He was released on June 4, 2015, on lifetime parole, the same day as co-conspirator Flynn's release and a few days past the 25th anniversary of Gregg Smart's death. Conspirator and driver Vance Lattime
1620-455: A limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography . The most familiar example of this, to Western readers, is the use of Biblical and saints' names in most of the Christian countries (with Ethiopia, in which names were often ideals or abstractions—Haile Selassie, "power of the Trinity"; Haile Miriam, "power of Mary"—as the most conspicuous exception). However, the name Jesus
1728-595: A loss, such as a collision, auto theft, or fire that is covered by their insurance policy in order to claim payment for damages. Criminal rings are sometimes involved in hard fraud schemes that can steal millions of dollars. Soft fraud , which is far more common than hard fraud, is sometimes also referred to as opportunistic fraud. This type of fraud consists of policyholders exaggerating otherwise legitimate claims. For example, when involved in an automotive collision an insured person might claim more damage than actually occurred. Soft fraud can also occur when, while obtaining
1836-406: A meeting at work to find her condominium ransacked and her husband Greggory murdered. Police officials said the crime scene looked like a disrupted burglary . Pamela was later accused of seducing 15-year-old Flynn and threatening to withhold sex from him unless he killed her husband. Flynn did so with the help of friends Patrick "Pete" Randall, Vance "J.R." Lattime, Jr., and Raymond Fowler. During
1944-529: A member of the National Organization for Women , campaigning for rights for women in prison. In October 1996, Smart was severely beaten by two fellow inmates. She sustained a fractured nose and a broken eye socket, which resulted in the insertion of a plastic plate in the left side of her face. The two inmates beat Smart after they accused her of snitching on them about their prison relationship. They were both convicted of second-degree assault in
2052-480: A name because of its meaning. This may be a personal or familial meaning, such as giving a child the name of an admired person, or it may be an example of nominative determinism , in which the parents give the child a name that they believe will be lucky or favourable for the child. Given names most often derive from the following categories: In many cultures, given names are reused, especially to commemorate ancestors or those who are particularly admired, resulting in
2160-414: A new health insurance policy , an individual misreports previous or existing conditions to obtain a lower premium on the insurance policy. The majority of life insurance fraud occurs at the application stage, involving applicants misrepresenting their health, their income, and other personal information in order to get a cheaper premium. As more and more insurance amendments can be performed online or over
2268-416: A pivotal character in his epic prose work, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia ; Jessica , created by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice ; Vanessa , created by Jonathan Swift ; Fiona , a character from James Macpherson 's spurious cycle of Ossian poems; Wendy , an obscure name popularised by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up ; and Madison ,
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#17327796019432376-483: A provider. Member fraud consists of claims on behalf of ineligible members and/or dependents, alterations on enrollment forms, concealing pre-existing conditions, failure to report other coverage, prescription drug fraud, and failure to disclose claims that were a result of a work-related injury. Provider fraud consists of claims submitted by bogus physicians, billing for services not rendered, billing for higher level of services, diagnosis or treatments that are outside
2484-485: A reaction to her telling Flynn that she wished to end their relationship and repair her marriage. She insisted that she neither participated in the murder plot nor had any foreknowledge of it. Though Flynn claimed he had fallen in love with Smart when he first met her, Cecelia Pierce testified at trial that Smart and Flynn were originally just friends. Pierce first noticed a change about February, when Smart confessed to her that she "loved Bill." Flynn testified at trial that he
2592-435: A shunt). Because the mechanism of injury is not fully understood, A&E doctors have to rely on a patient's external symptoms (which are easy to fake). Resultingly, "no win no fee" personal injury solicitors exploit this " loophole " for easy compensation money (often a £2500 payout). Ultimately this has resulted in increased motor insurance premiums, which has had the knock-on effect of pricing younger drivers off
2700-478: A significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions of dollars annually. Insurance fraud poses a significant problem, and governments and other organizations try to deter such activity. Studies suggest that the greatest total dollar amount of fraud is committed by the health insurance companies themselves, intentionally not paying claims and deleting them from their systems, and denying and cancelling coverage. Insurance fraud has existed since
2808-583: Is a desire for financial gain. Public healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are especially conducive to fraudulent activities, as they are often run on a fee-for-service structure. Physicians use several fraudulent techniques to achieve this end. These can include "up-coding" or "upgrading", which involve billing for more expensive treatments than those actually provided; providing, and subsequently billing for, treatments that are not medically necessary; scheduling extra visits for patients; referring patients to other physicians when no further treatment
2916-490: Is a wide variety of schemes used to defraud automobile insurance providers. These ploys can differ greatly in complexity and severity. Richard A. Derrig , vice president of research for the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts , lists several ways that auto-insurance fraud can occur, such as: In staged collision fraud, fraudsters use a motor vehicle to stage an accident with an innocent party. Typically,
3024-565: Is actually intended to be covered by the policy. Fraud involving claims from the councils ' insurers suppose staging damages blamable on the local authorities (mostly falls and trips on council owned land) or inflating the value of existing damages. The detection of insurance fraud generally occurs in two steps. The first step is to identify suspicious claims that have a higher possibility of being fraudulent. This can be done by computerized statistical analysis or by referrals from claims adjusters or insurance agents. Additionally, members of
3132-535: Is actually necessary; "phantom billing", billing for services not rendered; and "ganging", billing for services to family members or other individuals who are accompanying the patient but who did not personally receive any services. Perhaps the greatest total dollar amount of fraud is committed by the health insurance companies themselves. There are numerous studies and articles detailing examples of insurance companies intentionally not paying claims and deleting them from their systems, denying and cancelling coverage, and
3240-430: Is cemented. On June 11, 2024, as part of an effort to get a sentence reduction, a videotaped statement was released where for the first time ever, Smart accepted responsibility for her husband's death by asserting that she should have "seen the signs", in regards to her allegation that Flynn's actions were of his own volition. She claimed it was done as part of some inner work she was doing on herself. In 1992, Bill Flynn
3348-499: Is considered taboo or sacrilegious in some parts of the Christian world , though this taboo does not extend to the cognate Joshua or related forms which are common in many languages even among Christians. In some Spanish-speaking countries, the name Jesus is considered a normal given name. Similarly, the name Mary , now popular among Christians, particularly Roman Catholics , was considered too holy for secular use until about
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3456-412: Is considered offensive, or if it is deemed impractical. In France, the agency can refer the case to a local judge. Some jurisdictions, such as Sweden, restrict the spelling of names. In Denmark, one does not need to register a given name for the child until the child is six months old, and in some cases, one can even wait a little longer than this before the child gets an official name. Parents may choose
3564-642: Is currently serving a life sentence at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women , a maximum security prison in Westchester County, New York . Pamela Smart was born Pamela Wojas in Coral Gables , Florida , on August 16, 1967, the daughter of John and Linda Wojas. She grew up in Miami before her family moved to Derry , New Hampshire , when she was in the eighth grade. Pamela attended secondary school at Derry's Pinkerton Academy , where she
3672-497: Is due. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation , the most common schemes include premium diversion, fee churning, asset diversion, and workers compensation fraud. Perpetrators in the schemes can be insurance company employees or claimants. False insurance claims are insurance claims filed with the fraudulent intention towards an insurance provider. Fraudulent claims account for
3780-569: Is how quickly they move into jurisdictions with lesser enforcement, after a crackdown in a particular region. As a result, in the US several levels of police and the insurance industry have cooperated in forming task forces and sharing databases to track claim histories. In the United Kingdom , there is an increasing incidence of false whiplash claims to car insurance companies from motorists involved in minor car accidents (for instance;
3888-592: Is much lower than the number of acts that are actually committed. The best that can be done is to provide an estimate for the losses that insurers suffer due to insurance fraud. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud estimates that in 2006 a total of about $ 80 billion was lost in the United States due to insurance fraud. According to estimates by the Insurance Information Institute , insurance fraud accounts for about 10 percent of
3996-512: Is often destroyed by the fire itself. According to the United States Fire Administration , in the United States there were approximately 31,000 fires caused by arson in 2006, resulting in losses of $ 755 million. Unemployment insurance fraud can occur when someone who is not unemployed or who steals the identity of another individual obtains unemployment benefits to which he or she is not entitled. During 2020, there
4104-940: Is predominant. Also, a particular spelling is often more common for either men or women, even if the pronunciation is the same. Many culture groups, past and present, did not or do not gender their names strongly; thus, many or all of their names are unisex. On the other hand, in many languages including most Indo-European languages (but not English), gender is inherent in the grammar. Some countries have laws preventing unisex names , requiring parents to give their children sex-specific names. Names may have different gender connotations from country to country or language to language. Within anthroponymic classification, names of human males are called andronyms (from Ancient Greek ἀνήρ / man, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name), while names of human females are called gynonyms (from Ancient Greek γυνή / woman, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name). The popularity (frequency) distribution of given names typically follows
4212-409: Is that the historically-prevailing attitude in the medical profession is one of "fidelity to patients". This incentive can lead to fraudulent practices such as billing insurers for treatments that are not covered by the patient's insurance policy. To do this, physicians bill for a different service, which the policy covers, rather than the service they rendered. Another motivation for insurance fraud
4320-534: Is the Baby Name Game that uses the Elo rating system to rank parents preferred names and help them select one. Popular culture appears to have an influence on naming trends, at least in the United States and United Kingdom. Newly famous celebrities and public figures may influence the popularity of names. For example, in 2004, the names "Keira" and "Kiera" (anglicisation of Irish name Ciara) respectively became
4428-546: Is the official naming order used in Arabic countries (for example Saudi Arabia , Iraq and United Arab Emirates ). In many Western cultures , people often have multiple given names. Most often the first one in sequence is the one that a person goes by, although exceptions are not uncommon, such as in the cases of John Edgar Hoover (J. Edgar) and Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland (Barbara). The given name might also be used in compound form, as in, for example, John Paul or
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4536-435: Is very expensive and almost completely unavailable for vehicles over ten years old–the drivers can only obtain basic liability. Because Russian courts do not like using verbal claims, most people have dashboard cameras installed to warn would-be perpetrators or provide evidence for/against claims. A real accident may occur, but the dishonest owner may take the opportunity to incorporate a whole range of previous minor damage to
4644-933: The Philippines . The order family name – given name , commonly known as Eastern name order , is primarily used in East Asia (for example in China , Japan , Korea , Taiwan , Singapore , and Vietnam , among others, and by Malaysian Chinese ), as well as in Southern and North-Eastern parts of India , and as a standard in Hungary . This order is also used to various degrees and in specific contexts in other European countries, such as Austria and adjacent areas of Germany (that is, Bavaria ), and in France , Switzerland , Belgium , Greece and Italy , possibly because of
4752-479: The Southern United States . Double names are also common among Vietnamese names to make repeated name in the family. For example, Đặng Vũ Minh Anh and Đặng Vũ Minh Ánh, are two sisters with the given names Minh Anh and Minh Ánh. Sometimes, a given name is used as just an initial, especially in combination with the middle initial (such as with H. G. Wells ), and more rarely as an initial while
4860-579: The case of John Darwin , a former teacher and prison officer who turned up alive in December 2007, five years after he was thought to have died in a canoeing accident, claiming to have no memory of the period after his disappearance. Similarly, former British Government minister John Stonehouse went missing in 1974 from a beach in Miami but was discovered living under an assumed name in Australia . He
4968-694: The 12th century. In countries that particularly venerated Mary, this remained the case much longer; in Poland, until the arrival in the 17th century of French queens named Marie. Most common given names in English (and many other European languages) can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin: Frequently, a given name has versions in many languages. For example, the biblical name Susanna also occurs in its original biblical Hebrew version, Shoshannah , its Spanish and Portuguese version Susana , its French version, Suzanne , its Polish version, Zuzanna , or its Hungarian version, Zsuzsanna . Despite
5076-476: The 2023 ruling. "He is one of the few people that could actually get me out of here, by coming forward and telling the truth, but he's never gonna do that," said Smart. In 2003, photos of a scantily clad Smart were published in the National Enquirer . She filed a complaint against the prison and was placed in solitary confinement for two months. Smart sued in relation to her placement in solitary, but
5184-479: The 51st and 92nd most popular girls' names in the UK, following the rise in popularity of British actress Keira Knightley . In 2001, the use of Colby as a boys' name for babies in the United States jumped from 233rd place to 99th, just after Colby Donaldson was the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback . Also, the female name "Miley" which before was not in the top 1000 was 278th most popular in 2007, following
5292-493: The African-American community. Since the 1970s neologistic (creative, inventive) practices have become increasingly common and the subject of academic study. Insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit or advantage that
5400-559: The American Coalition Against Insurance Fraud , the causes vary, but are usually centered on greed, and on holes in the protections against fraud. Often, those who commit insurance fraud view it as a low-risk, lucrative enterprise. For example, drug dealers who have entered insurance fraud think it is safer and more profitable than working street corners. Compared to those for other crimes, court sentences for insurance fraud can be lenient, reducing
5508-452: The FBI, non-health insurance fraud costs an estimated $ 40 billion per year, which increases the premiums for the average U.S. family between $ 400 and $ 700 annually. Another study of all types of fraud committed in the United States insurance institutions (property-and-casualty, business liability, healthcare, social security, etc.) put the true cost at 33% to 38% of the total cash flow through
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#17327796019435616-405: The UK estimated there were more than 20,000 staged collisions and false insurance claims across the UK from 1999 to 2006. One tactic fraudsters use is to drive to a busy junction or roundabout and brake sharply causing a motorist to drive into the back of them. They claim the other motorist was at fault because they were driving too fast or too close behind them, and make a false and inflated claim to
5724-404: The attack on Smart at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and were subsequently transferred to separate prisons. As a result of the beating, Smart takes medication for chronic pain and sometimes thinks of suicide . Her counselor, Dr. Eleanor Pam, says that "she has many, many, many dark days." Smart says she still keeps track of Flynn because she regards him as being the key to her freedom, before
5832-526: The beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. An epigram by the Roman poet Martial provides clear evidence that the phenomenon of insurance fraud was already known in the Roman Empire during the first century AD: The "chief motive in all insurance crimes is financial profit". Insurance contracts provide both the insured and the insurer with opportunities for exploitation. According to
5940-589: The blatant underpayment to hospitals and physicians beneath what are normal fees for care they provide. Although difficult to obtain the information, this fraud by insurance companies can be estimated by comparing revenues from premium payments and expenditures on health claims. In response to the increased amount of health care fraud in the United States, Congress , through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), has specifically established health care fraud as
6048-457: The car during the killing) was sentenced to 30 years for conspiracy to murder and attempted burglary, and parole eligibility after 15 years. Fowler was paroled in 2003, 13 years after Gregg Smart's death, but was sent back to prison in 2004 for violating his parole terms. He was paroled again in June 2005. Given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name ) is the part of
6156-738: The character when used in given names can have a feminine (adult) connotation. In many Westernised Asian locations, many Asians also have an unofficial or even registered Western (typically English) given name, in addition to their Asian given name. This is also true for Asian students at colleges in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia as well as among international businesspeople. Most names in English are traditionally masculine (Hugo, James, Harold) or feminine (Daphne, Charlotte, Jane), but there are unisex names as well, such as Jordan , Jamie , Jesse , Morgan , Leslie/ Lesley , Joe / Jo , Jackie , Pat , Dana, Alex, Chris / Kris , Randy / Randi , Lee , etc. Often, use for one gender
6264-622: The claim to expected values. The main difference between the two methods is how the expected values are derived. In a supervised method, expected values are obtained by analyzing records of both fraudulent and non-fraudulent claims. According to Richard J. Bolton and David B. Hand, both of Imperial College London , this method has some drawbacks as it requires absolute certainty that those claims analyzed are actually either fraudulent or non-fraudulent, and because it can only be used to detect types of fraud that have been committed and identified before. Unsupervised methods of statistical detection, on
6372-655: The claimant was not actually involved in the accident, submitting claims for medical treatments that were not received, or inventing injuries. Hard fraud can also occur when claimants falsely report their vehicle as stolen. Soft fraud accounts for the majority of fraudulent auto-insurance claims. Another example is that a person may illegally register their car to a location that would net them cheaper insurance rates than where they actually live, sometimes called rate evasion . For example, some drivers in Brooklyn have Pennsylvania license plates , because insurance rates for
6480-522: The claims to the professionals at the top, and recruit participants. These participants at the bottom-rung of the scheme are desperate people (poor immigrants or others in need of quick cash) who are paid around US$ 1000 to place their bodies in the paths of cars and trucks, playing a kind of Russian roulette with their lives and those of unsuspecting motorists around them. According to investigators, cappers usually hire within their own ethnic groups. What makes busting these staged-accident crime rings difficult
6588-435: The cold-blooded mastermind who controlled her underaged sex partner. Nicolosi claimed that Smart seduced Flynn to get him to murder her husband, so that she could avoid an expensive divorce and benefit from a $ 140,000 life insurance policy . In her testimony, Smart acknowledged that she had what she termed an affair with the underaged boy, but claimed that the murder of her husband was solely the doing of Flynn and his friends as
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#17327796019436696-676: The corresponding statistics for England and Wales in 1994 were Emily and James, with 3% and 4% of names, respectively. Not only have Mary and John gone out of favour in the English-speaking world, but the overall distribution of names has also changed significantly over the last 100 years for females, but not for males. This has led to an increasing amount of diversity for female names. Education, ethnicity, religion, class and political ideology affect parents' choice of names. Politically conservative parents choose common and traditional names, while politically liberal parents may choose
6804-471: The couple began having difficulties in their relationship. Pamela took a job as a media coordinator at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire , where she met sophomore student William "Billy" Flynn at Project Self-Esteem, a school drug awareness program where both were volunteers. Pamela also met another intern named Cecelia Pierce, who was friends with Flynn. On May 1, 1990, Pamela came home from
6912-506: The examples above—the two characters together may mean nothing at all. Instead, they may be selected to include particular sounds, tones , or radicals ; to balance the Chinese elements of a child's birth chart ; or to honor a generation poem handed down through the family for centuries. Traditionally, it is considered an affront , not an honor, to have a newborn named after an older relative and so full names are rarely passed down through
7020-408: The existence of organized crime rings that stage auto accidents for insurance fraud. These schemes generally consist of three different levels. At the top, there are the professionals—doctors or lawyers who diagnose false injuries and/or file fraudulent claims and these earn the bulk of the profits from the fraud. Next are the " cappers " or "runners", the middlemen who obtain the cars to crash, farm out
7128-515: The families of both parents. The order given name – mother's family name – father's family name is commonly used in Portuguese -speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. Today, people in Spain and Uruguay can rearrange the order of their names legally to this order. The order given name - father's given name - grandfather's given name (often referred to as triple name )
7236-749: The fraudsters' vehicle carries four or five passengers. Its driver makes an unexpected manoeuvre, forcing an innocent party to collide with the fraudster's vehicle. Each of the fraudsters then files claims for injuries sustained in the vehicle. A "recruited" doctor diagnoses whiplash or other soft-tissue injuries which are hard to dispute later. Other examples include jumping in front of cars as done in Russia. The driving conditions and roads are dangerous with many people trying to scam drivers by jumping in front of expensive-looking cars or crashing into them. Hit and runs are very common and insurance companies notoriously specialize in denying claims. Two-way insurance coverage
7344-611: The hands of certain doctors. Some scams involve double-billing by doctors who charge insurers for treatments that never occurred, and surgeons who perform unnecessary surgery. According to Roger Feldman, Blue Cross Professor of Health Insurance at the University of Minnesota , one of the main reasons that medical fraud is such a prevalent practice is that nearly all of the parties involved find it favorable in some way. Many physicians see it as necessary to provide quality care for their patients. Many patients, although disapproving of
7452-428: The idea of fraud, are sometimes more willing to accept it when it affects their own medical care. Program administrators are often lenient on the issue of insurance fraud, as they want to maximize the services of their providers. The most common perpetrators of healthcare insurance fraud are health care providers . One reason for this, according to David Hyman, a Professor at the University of Maryland School of Law ,
7560-447: The influence of bureaucracy, which commonly puts the family name before the given name. In China and Korea, part of the given name may be shared among all members of a given generation within a family and extended family or families, in order to differentiate those generations from other generations. The order given name – father's family name – mother's family name is commonly used in several Spanish -speaking countries to acknowledge
7668-662: The investigation, Lattime's father brought a .38 caliber pistol he had found in his house to the police, believing it might have been the murder weapon. On May 14, an anonymous tip also indicated that Pamela's friend Cecelia Pierce was aware of the plan. Police talked to Pierce, who agreed to wear a wire and record conversations with Pamela in hopes that she would say something incriminating, which she did. On August 1, 1990, Detective Daniel Pelletier approached Pamela in her school's parking lot. Smart recognized him, having spoken to him on at least six other occasions. Taken by surprise, she asked, "What's up?" "Well, Pam," Pelletier said in
7776-489: The lawsuit was dismissed. In 2004, Smart and fellow inmate Carolyn Warmus sued officials of Bedford Hills, claiming sexual harassment , and sexual assault by a corrections officer, who they said coerced them into posing for the suggestive pictures published in 2003. On November 5, 2009, a U.S. District Court Judge approved a $ 23,875 judgment to Smart from the State of New York. Smart received $ 8,750, while her attorney received
7884-651: The media had influenced her trial and conviction, as she explained in the 2014 HBO documentary Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart . In March 2023, the New Hampshire Supreme Court dismissed Pamela Smart's chance of freedom. This came after asking the Supreme Court to reverse Gov. Chris Sununu 's decision to deny her a commutation hearing. Smart is serving her life sentence at the maximum-security Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in Westchester County, New York , where she
7992-435: The middle name is not one (such as with L. Ron Hubbard ). A child's given name or names are usually chosen by the parents soon after birth. If a name is not assigned at birth, one may be given at a naming ceremony , with family and friends in attendance. In most jurisdictions, a child's name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on a birth certificate , or its equivalent. In Western cultures, people normally retain
8100-506: The motorist's insurer for whiplash and damage, which can pay the fraudsters up to £30,000. In the Insurance Fraud Bureau's first year of operation, the usage of data mining initiatives exposed insurance fraud networks and led to 74 arrests and a five-to-one return on investment. The Insurance Research Council estimated that in 1996, 21 to 36 percent of auto-insurance claims contained elements of suspected fraud. There
8208-505: The names of literary characters or other relatively obscure cultural figures. Devout members of religions often choose names from their religious scriptures. For example, Hindu parents may name a daughter Saanvi after the goddess, Jewish parents may name a boy Isaac after one of the earliest ancestral figures, and Muslim parents may name a boy Mohammed after the prophet Mohammed . There are many tools parents can use to choose names, including books, websites and applications. An example
8316-413: The perpetrators of the orchestrated crashes. Such techniques are the classic rear-end shunt (the driver in front suddenly slams on the brakes, possibly with brake lights disabled), the decoy rear-end shunt (when following one car, another one pulls in front of it, causing it to brake sharply, then the first car drives off) or the helpful wave shunt (the driver is waved into a line of queuing traffic by
8424-443: The property/casualty insurance industry's incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that 3% of the health care industry's expenditures in the United States are due to fraudulent activities, amounting to a cost of about $ 51 billion. Other estimates attribute as much as 10% of the total healthcare spending in the United States to fraud—about $ 115 billion annually. According to
8532-743: The public can provide tips to insurance companies, law enforcement and other organizations regarding suspected, observed, or admitted insurance fraud perpetrated by other individuals. Regardless of the source, the next step is to refer these claims to investigators for further analysis. Due to the sheer number of claims submitted each day, it would be far too expensive for insurance companies to have employees check each claim for symptoms of fraud. Instead, many companies use computers and statistical analysis to identify suspicious claims for further investigation. There are two main types of statistical analysis tools used: supervised and unsupervised. In either case, suspicious claims are identified by comparing data about
8640-679: The recording, "I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that we've solved the murder of your husband. The bad news is you're under arrest." "What for?" Smart asked. "First-degree murder." Smart was then handcuffed and arraigned at the Derry District Court and jailed at the New Hampshire State Prison for Women , which was in Goffstown at the time. Smart's trial was widely watched and garnered considerable media attention, partly because it
8748-536: The remaining balance for attorney fees. While serving her sentence, Smart took part in a writer's workshop, which was facilitated by playwright Eve Ensler . The workshop and Smart's writing were exhibited in the 2003 PBS documentary What I Want My Words to Do to You . In April 2004, the First U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a 2002 ruling by a federal judge who rejected her federal habeas petition . Prior to her federal appeal , Smart had exhausted all judicial appeals at
8856-463: The request. On February 12, 2008, the request was denied, although Flynn's earliest parole eligibility date was reduced by three years to 25 years, making him eligible for parole in 2015. In July 2014, Flynn was moved to a minimum security facility in Warren, Maine; the transfer allowed him to participate in a work release program. Flynn was granted parole by the state parole board on March 12, 2015, and
8964-445: The result of the testimony of her co-conspirators and secretly taped conversations in which Smart appeared to contradict her claims of having wanted to reconcile with her husband and of having no knowledge of the boys' plot. She could have been charged with capital murder , but the prosecution decided against it. Later that day, she was given a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility for parole . Smart argued that
9072-652: The rise to fame of singer-actress Miley Cyrus (who was named Destiny at birth). Characters from fiction also seem to influence naming. After the name Kayla was used for a character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives , the name's popularity increased greatly. The name Tammy , and the related Tamara became popular after the movie Tammy and the Bachelor came out in 1957. Some names were established or spread by being used in literature. Notable examples include Pamela , invented by Sir Philip Sidney for
9180-516: The risk of extended punishment. Though insurers fight fraud, some pay suspicious claims anyway, as settling such claims is often cheaper than legal action. Another basis for fraud is over-insurance, in which someone insures property for more than its real value. This condition can be difficult to avoid, especially since an insurance provider might sometimes encourage it to obtain greater profits. This lets fraudsters profit by destroying their property, because they receive an insurance payout greater that
9288-415: The road. Possible motivations for property insurance fraud can include obtaining payment that is worth more than the value of the property destroyed, or to destroy and subsequently receive payment for goods that could not otherwise be sold. According to Alfred Manes, the majority of fraudulent property insurance crimes involve arson . One reason for this is that any evidence that a fire was started by arson
9396-416: The royal example, then spread to the general population and became common by the end of the eighteenth century. Some double-given names for women were used at the start of the eighteenth century but were used together as a unit: Anna Maria, Mary Anne and Sarah Jane. Those became stereotyped as the typical names of servants and so became unfashionable in the nineteenth century. Double names remain popular in
9504-409: The same given name throughout their lives. However, in some cases these names may be changed by following legal processes or by repute. People may also change their names when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions. In certain jurisdictions, a government-appointed registrar of births may refuse to register a name for the reasons that it may cause a child harm, that it
9612-465: The scammer who promptly crashes, then denies waving). Organized crime rings can also be involved in auto-insurance fraud, sometimes carrying out schemes that are very complex. An example of one such ploy is given by Ken Dornstein , author of Accidentally, on Purpose: The Making of a Personal Injury Underworld in America . In this scheme, known as a "swoop-and-squat", one or more drivers in "swoop" cars force an unsuspecting driver into position behind
9720-552: The scope of practice, alterations on claims submissions, and providing services while medical licenses are either suspended or revoked. Independent medical examinations debunk false insurance claims and allow the insurance company or claimant to seek a non-partial medical view for injury-related cases. According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud , health insurance fraud depletes taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare, and may victimize patients in
9828-613: The state attorney general's office told the Keene State Equinox that Smart was transferred due to discipline problems. While she had accrued 22 disciplinary reports, all but two of them were for minor offenses. Deputy Compact Administrator Denise Heath claimed that at the time, there were fears that the State Prison for Women was not suitable for a high-profile inmate like Smart, and that it would be too easy for someone to break her out. However, New Hampshire has never had
9936-522: The state level. In July 2005, the New Hampshire Executive Council unanimously denied a pardon request for "any conditions the governor may seek to impose." In an interview with ABC News , Smart indicated she is afraid of growing old and dying in prison and would rather have been given the death penalty . On March 29, 2023, it was reported that Smart lost her final appeal. With all legal options exhausted, her life sentence
10044-789: The system. This study resulted in the book title The Trillion Dollar Insurance Crook by J.E. Smith. In the United Kingdom , the Insurance Fraud Bureau estimates that the loss due to insurance fraud in the United Kingdom is about £ 1.5 billion ($ 3.08 billion), causing a 5% increase in insurance premiums. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates that personal injury fraud in Canada costs about C$ 500 million annually. Indiaforensic Center of Studies estimates that Insurance frauds in India costs about $ 6.25 billion annually. Insurance fraud can be classified as either hard fraud or soft fraud. Hard fraud occurs when someone deliberately plans or invents
10152-425: The telephone, identity theft has become an enabling crime that can lead to the amendment of life insurance terms to benefit a fraudster; for example, by adding a second stolen identity as a new beneficiary. Life insurance fraud may involve faking death to claim life insurance. Fraudsters may sometimes turn up a few years after disappearing, claiming a loss of memory. An example of life insurance fraud occurred in
10260-529: The top 1,000 before. Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the British rock group Marillion . Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985, the year in which Marillion released " Kayleigh ". Popular culture figures need not be admirable in order to influence naming trends. For example, Peyton came into
10368-478: The top 1000 as a female given name for babies in the United States for the first time in 1992 (at #583), immediately after it was featured as the name of an evil nanny in the film The Hand That Rocks the Cradle . On the other hand, historical events can influence child-naming. For example, the given name Adolf has fallen out of use since the end of World War II in 1945. In contrast with this anecdotal evidence,
10476-757: The uniformity of Chinese surnames , some Chinese given names are fairly original because Chinese characters can be combined extensively. Unlike European languages, with their Biblical and Greco-Roman heritage, the Chinese language does not have a particular set of words reserved for given names: any combination of Chinese characters can theoretically be used as a given name. Nonetheless, a number of popular characters commonly recur, including "Strong" ( 伟 , Wěi ), "Learned" ( 文 , Wén ), "Peaceful" ( 安 , Ān ), and "Beautiful" ( 美 , Měi ). Despite China's increasing urbanization, several names such as "Pine" ( 松 , Sōng ) or " Plum " ( 梅 , Méi ) also still reference nature. Most Chinese given names are two characters long and—despite
10584-427: The value of the property. The most common forms of insurance fraud are re-framing a non-insured damage to make it an event covered by insurance, and inflating the value of the loss. It is hard to place an exact value on the money stolen through insurance fraud. Insurance fraud is deliberately undetectable, unlike visible crimes such as robbery or murder. As such, the number of cases of insurance fraud that are detected
10692-676: The vehicle into the garage bill associated with the real accident. Personal injuries may also be exaggerated, particularly whiplash . Insurance fraud cases of exaggerated claims can also include claiming damage to the car that is not from the accident reported in the claim. Examples of soft auto-insurance fraud include filing more than one claim for a single injury, filing claims for injuries not related to an automobile accident , misreporting wage losses due to injuries, and reporting higher costs for car repairs than those that were actually paid. Hard auto-insurance fraud can include activities such as staging automobile collisions, filing claims when
10800-583: Was a cheerleader, and graduated from Florida State University (FSU) with a degree in communications, in the track entitled "Media Performance." At FSU, she was the host of a college radio program, where she called herself the "Maiden of Metal." Pamela met Greggory Smart while she visited New Hampshire over Christmas break in 1986. They formed a relationship in February 1987 and married two years later, with Greggory moving to Florida to live with Pamela during her senior year at FSU. Seven months into their marriage,
10908-404: Was a significant spike of unemployment fraud in the United States. In addition to fraudulent claims, insurers can lose premium because customers inaccurately describe the risk, causing less premium to be charged. This can happen for any type of insurable risk and is most noteworthy in workers compensation insurance, where insureds report fewer employees, less payroll, and less risky employees than
11016-492: Was a virgin before he had sex with Pamela Smart. After a 14-day trial that culminated on March 22, 1991, in the Rockingham County Superior Court, Smart was found guilty of being an accomplice to first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and witness tampering. The tampering stemmed from Smart's coercing Pierce to lie to authorities or not to say anything to them. The conviction was largely
11124-468: Was one of the first in the U.S. to allow TV cameras in the courtroom. She faced life in prison if convicted. The prosecution's case relied heavily on testimony from Smart's teenaged co-conspirators, who had secured their own plea bargains before her trial began. When oral arguments began March 4, 1991, Assistant Attorney General Diane Nicolosi portrayed the teenagers as naïve victims of an "evil woman bent on murder." The prosecution portrayed Pamela Smart as
11232-468: Was released from prison with lifetime parole on June 4, 2015, a few days past the 25th anniversary of Gregg Smart's death. Like Flynn, Patrick Randall was also sentenced to life in prison for second degree murder, eligible for parole after 40 years with 12 years deferred, making him eligible as early as 2018. He too served his sentence at the Maine State Prison in Warren, Maine. In March 2009,
11340-412: Was sentenced to life in prison as an accomplice to second-degree murder, eligible for parole after 30 years with 12 years suspended. In 2005, his minimum sentence was reduced by three years, and he was released on lifetime parole that same year, 15 years after Gregg Smart's death. In 2023, Lattime was denied a sentence reduction that would have seen his parole end. Conspirator Raymond Fowler (who waited in
11448-721: Was sentenced to life in prison for second degree murder ; not eligible for parole for 40 years with 12 years of the minimum sentence deferred if he maintains good behavior. Flynn was incarcerated at the Maine State Prison in Warren , where he earned his GED , has been active in charity work and worked as an electrician at the prison. In 2007, Flynn sought a sentence reduction after serving 16 years, stating that he had vowed not to do so until he had spent as many years behind bars as he had spent free. He also apologized to Gregg Smart's family for murdering him. The Smart family opposed
11556-507: Was subsequently extradited to Britain and imprisoned for seven years on charges of fraud, theft, and forgery. Another case would be that of Jack Gilbert Graham . He put a bomb on his mother's plane and purchased insurance before the flight took off. Health insurance fraud is described as an intentional act of deceiving, concealing, or misrepresenting information that results in health care benefits being paid to an individual or group. Fraud can be committed either by an insured person or by
11664-416: Was transferred in 1993 from the New Hampshire State Prison for Women in Goffstown . At the time, New Hampshire officials said the transfer was for unspecified "security reasons." Co-defendants William Flynn and Patrick Randall were also transferred out-of-state, in both cases to the Maine State Prison in Warren, Maine . The specific reasons for Smart's transfer are unclear. In 2007, a senior assistant in
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