Wallace "Popsicle" Morris is a cold, hardened criminal behind dozens of fake accidents in a conspiracy that involved staged auto accidents, phony police reports, and personal injury claims in excess of $1 million.
On May 22, 2008, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office announced the arrest of Wallace "Popsicle" Morris, Sr. for more than 200 counts of insurance fraud, 200 counts of theft by deception, and related charges. Apparently, "Popsicle" wasn't so sweet to the people he worked with in the scheme, as most of the 116 people arrested for their involvement have identified Morris as the alleged organizer of the whole operation.
According to the report, "Popsicle" Morris enlisted the help of such a large group of people in order to stage auto accidents, secure fraudulent police reports, and submit phony claims to insurers for quick cash settlements. Each accident was set up to include two vehicles, each with one driver and at least one passenger so that there were multiple claimants in each case. The claims for injuries ranged in value from $5,000 to $100,000 for one accident. The majority of these fake claims were submitted to major insurers such as AIG, Allstate, GEICO, Liberty Mutual, and State Farm.
In December, 2009, Morris pled guilty to 44 of 200 counts of insurance fraud, 43 counts of theft by deception, and one count each of bribery, perjury, and conspiracy. The new year didn't bring him any luck either, as he was indicted for 17 counts of mail fraud in February 2010.
Morris was sentenced to a total of four to 10 years in prison on July 29, 2010, and was ordered to pay $440,000 in restitution to 17 different insurers. He will also serve seven years of consecutive state probation once released from prison. After staging 44 auto accidents and defrauding so many companies, "Popsicle" Morris deserves to spend some serious time in the cooler. Let's just hope that his sticky situation deters fraudsters.
See also: Take A Bow
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