Washington County insurance agent charged with insurance fraud

Police arrested a Washington County insurance agent on Friday in connection with an insurance fraud investigation.

Tyson J. Thompson, 36, James Street, Salem, turned himself into the Washington County Jail in Salem. He was charged with insurance fraud, a class C felony, Sgt. Jerry Goodin of the Indiana State Police said.

 The charge was a result of an investigation that began in late October 2009.

Detective Scott Stewart from the Indiana State Police Post at Sellersburg received a phone call then from an investigator with a national insurance company. The investigator told Stewart that a local agent from Salem was contracted to sell insurance for them.

"The agent, Tyson J. Thompson, was allegedly collecting insurance premiums from customers but failed to forward these premiums to the national/parent company," Goodin said. "As Detective Stewart was investigating the allegations with the help of the insurance company he located several customers that Tyson J. Thompson had allegedly collected insurance premiums from without forwarding the premiums to the national/parent company as per protocol."

The premiums collected by Thompson totaled more than $15,000, Goodin said.

 When Stewart completed his investigation, he turned it over to the Washington County prosecutor’s office, resulting in the charge of insurance fraud.