KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal prison for participating in a $1.1 million insurance fraud scheme.
Michael Stuart Smith, 36, will serve four years in federal prison without parole. Smith is also ordered by the court to pay $40,836 in restitution to his victims.
Smith, who is known as "Black Mike," was involved in an insurance fraud scheme that involved staging automobile incidents.
He was recruited by his friend Lawrence Courtney, who pleaded guilty to fraud charges Thursday.
According to court documents, the fraud scheme involved submitting false claims that they had suffered bodily injuries and that they would be personally liable for any medical bills related to insurance claims.
The schemers would go to various medical providers, claiming injuries from the staged accidents and requesting various testing such a MRIs, CT scans and/or X-rays.
The conspirators, some of whom were involved in multiple incidents, received thousands of dollars, and in some cases tens of thousands of dollars, based on the false claims.
However, no payments were made to medical providers and the money was instead used to fund the schemers personal expenses.
Smith told federal authorities that he was involved in two staged incidents — one in May 2018 and another February 2019.
—
