Source:  www.mpi.mb.ca Fraud comes in all shapes and forms, from deliberately staged accidents to bogus auto theft claims. Manitoba Public Insurance relies on various methods to catch these fraudsters, ranging from good old-fashioned investigative skills to acting on tips from the general public. Fraudulent and suspicious claims are handled by Manitoba Public Insurance’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU). The efforts of this special unit resulted in fraud savings last year of $8.2 million for Manitoban auto insurance rate payers. The SIU closed 2,100 investigations last year. Anyone knowing someone who is involved in auto insurance fraud is encouraged to call the Manitoba Public Insurance TIPS Line: 204-985-8477 or toll-free 1-877-985-8477. All calls are anonymous. No. 1: “Smile! You’re on Camera” Thanks to the keen investigative skills of an SIU investigator, a fraudulent bodily injury claim was discovered, saving Manitoba Public Insurance and its ratepayers more than $15,000. The pedestrian said he was hit by a car and injured ─ unable to work. The driver adamantly insisted there was no incident. With the two conflicting statements, the SIU investigator went to the scene and observed that several businesses had security cameras mounted on their buildings. After viewing footage from one of the cameras, the investigator was able to see the pedestrian approaching the parking lot. Clearly, there had been no collision between the vehicle and pedestrian. A seasoned collision re-constructionist, who examined the footage and location, also confirmed there could not have been any contact between pedestrian and vehicle. The claim was subsequently denied. No. 2: “Luxury Porsche Actually a Lemon” Thanks to the cooperative relationship between the RCMP and Manitoba Public Insurance, a fraudulent auto theft claim of more than $20,000 was denied. The owner of a Porsche told his adjuster that the vehicle had been stolen from his apartment block parking lot in Winnipeg. A theft claim was opened. The story quickly unravelled after the RCMP notified Manitoba Public Insurance that a badly damaged/vandalized Porsche had been located in a rural area ─ a full day before the owner claimed his car had been stolen. During examination of the Porsche, it was discovered that the vehicle was in need of major mechanical repairs, which would have cost the owner several thousand dollars. Based on the police information and pre-existing mechanical condition of the vehicle, the theft claim was denied. No. 3: “Wannabe Manitoban” All Manitoba residents are entitled to benefits under the Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP). Outside of the province, many insurance plans are structured differently and don’t always provide the robust coverage available under Manitoba’s no-fault injury compensation plan. Because of this, some individuals may try to claim they are Manitoba residents in order to receive PIPP benefits. A man was severely injured in the United States after being involved in a crash. His family claimed he had been visiting the U.S. and opened an injury claim with Manitoba Public Insurance. While processing the claim, the case manager received information from a number of agencies which confirmed the man had not lived in Manitoba for several years, making him ineligible to for PIPP benefits. Presented with this information, the man’s family withdrew their claim. Savings were estimated to be in excess of $500,000. No. 4: “Case of a Guilty Conscience” After a number of unusual details came to surface, a father and son were asked to give a statement to an SIU investigator about the theft of a pick-up truck. During the interview the son made a surprising offer: to write a promissory note to Manitoba Public Insurance for nearly $11,000 (damage costs). The son then declined to discuss his financial generosity. However, the facts spoke volumes: the father, who was the registered owner, stated the truck had been stolen from his residence. One day after the reported theft, the same truck rear-ended another vehicle and fled the scene with several people witnessing the crash. No. 5: “The Accident That Wasn’t” Two vehicles collide and are badly damaged. This happens every day in Manitoba. But, a number of unusual details surfaced during the investigation of this specific collision. It was discovered these two individuals knew each other and their vehicles were both in poor running condition. A seasoned traffic re-constructionist testified that this crash was no accident, but a staged collision. One driver pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000. He received a two-year suspended sentence with supervised probation, 100 hours of community service work and a restitution order of $17,000 to repay Manitoba Public Insurance. The second driver, who was also charged with fraud over $5,000, did not appear in court. A warrant for his arrest has since been issued.

One driver was caught doing 135 km/h in a 60 km/h zone, 17 people were charged with either Impaired Driving or drive over .08, and there were 3 people charged with refusing a Breath Demand during the RCMP's most recent Holiday Checkstop Program. In addition the program saw 1 person charged with Impaired Driving by Drugs, 8 alcohol or drug-related administrative roadside suspensions, and 531 other traffic-related provincial statue (Highway Traffic Act) charges laid. Two of the seventeen individuals charged with Impaired Driving, or driving over .08, had blood alcohol readings of 270 mgs% (.270), or 3.5 times the legal limit. The third installment of the Checkstop Program for 2016 ran from December 20, 2016 to December 26, 2016. In total 1733 vehicles were checked across the Province during 40 check stops

December 27, 2016 was an extremely busy day for us here at bdnmb.ca, as we played host to an astonishing 39,153 unique viewers during the 24-hour period. Many came to view the series of pictures, of the most recent winter storm, that our readers had submitted. Since it was first posted live at 10:00 pm on the 26th the page has generated an impressive 56,164 views. At one point in the day 1908 unique visitors were accessing the web site at the exact same moment. Viewers came from all around the world to check out the impressive array of photos, as evidenced by the image below.  The most viewed story previously on www.bdnmb.ca had been Crows General Store, A Hidden Gem which has attracted just a shade under 25,000 views to date. Thank-you to everyone for submitting their storm photos and for linking to our story.

A 36-year old Brandon male has been arrested for Assault with a Weapon, and Utter Threats to Cause Death after an incident in Brandon on Wednesday afternoon. Police say the man assaulted a woman with a phone cord. Reports indicate that he had asked her to pull the vehicle into the garage when the garage suffered some damage. Prior to her leaving the residence it is alleged that he threatened to kill her. The victim made contact with police to complain of the assault at around 3:10 pm and a short-time later the suspect turned himself in.  He suspect was released on a promise to appear.

Glen Simard, a local teacher, has been awarded 4th place in CBC's 'This One's For You” contest which “asked Canadians to nominate someone - mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandparent, sibling, coach or mentor - who went the extra distance to make your sports dream a reality. “ Glen was nominated by sons, Andrew & Nathan, with some assistance from their mother, Lori.  The boys aged, 10 & 12, wrote about how their father has always been there to coach or help their teams. Last summer he coached both boys baseball teams and each team won their respective league titles. In addition to coaching, Glen was also the Mosquito director and Vice President of the Baseball Association in Brandon. Anyone, who spends time at the rink will certainly recognize him from behind one of the benches of either a house league, or double roster team. All of this is in addition to the hours he puts in organizing intramurals in basketball, soccer and floor hockey at the school level. For exactly what the boys had to say about their father please follow this link. Glen, and family, take home a trip for 2 to Niagara Falls, $1,500 and a helicopter ride.