WA Accident Fraud Ringleader Gets 12 Years in Prison

The US Attorney's Office in Spokane says the man who led a group of people involved in insurance fraud will get 12 years in prison.

  The man led a group who faked car accidents

William Oldham Mize was the leader of the group, that between 2013 and 2018, staged numerous vehicle collisions in Nevada and WA State, and bilked insurance companies out of at least $6 million dollars. His scheme began to unravel between 2018 and 2019.

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Most of the money was kept by Mize, some went to his co-conspirators. The reason it look some time to bring him to justice is that he became a fugitive. According to the US Attorney's Office:

"Mize originally appeared in federal court on his indictment on January 9, 2019. Following his initial appearance, he was released pending trial. In July 2019, Mize fled from supervision and became a fugitive, living under a number of false identities. 

On November 28, 2023, the U.S. Marshals apprehended Mize in Jacksonville, Florida based on a lead that Mize, using a false identity, was attempting to sell a yacht in which he was living in the Jacksonville area. Mize was then located and arrested at a marina in central Florida and transported to Eastern Washington, where he has remained in custody."

His sentencing from Judge Thomas O. Rice in US District Court also included:

"3 years of supervised release and $6,657,209.00 in restitution to insurance companies and $436,399.00 in restitution to the IRS."