Every week, one hears stories of fraudulent auto claims—whether someone torched their car, purposefully got in an accident, or arranged for their car to be “stolen” in order to receive a payout from their insurer. However, it is not often that one hears of one of these false claims being filed in order for the insured to rent a car for use in a drive-by shooting.
In November of 2009, 28-year-old Mildred Grant alleged she was involved in a car accident. Her boyfriend, Akim Webster, had been driving Grant's leased 2000 Mercedes Benz E320 when the crash occurred. Webster was arrested at the scene for driving without a license and the vehicle was towed.
Grant received $501.59 from GEICO, while the leasing company received $7,139. GEICO also paid for a rental car for Grant, a 2010 Ford Fusion. Little did GEICO know that Grant and Webster had big plans for that car.
Within days, the Fusion was caught on a surveillance tape, and Grant was not behind the wheel. Webster was once again driving without a license, but this time he was following the vehicle of 25-year-old Kameek Sears and 23-year-old Donte McKee. Webster opened fire on the two men, killing Sears and wounding McKee, who was able to continue driving and get help. The next day, the vehicle was returned to Enterprise Rent-a-Car as though nothing had happened.
Investigators knew there was a bit more to the story, though. Webster was found guilty of the slaying this past February, and Grant was arrested just this month on charges of third-degree insurance fraud, third-degree grand larceny, and petit larceny, as well as to felony charges from an unrelated case in June. Filing the false claim after her Mercedes was involved in an accident did not get Grant the results she and Webster were hoping for.
It turns out that Grant and Webster were part of a crowd that was not very forgiving. Investigators learned that Webster had killed Sears because Sears did not back Webster up in a fight when the men had been in jail two years ago—Sears for drug possession and Webster for felonious assault. And that's not all. Two days after Webster killed Sears, 18-year-old Kyre Henderson, who was believed to have been in the car with Webster during the shooting, was found shot to death in a supposed retaliation killing.
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