GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An insurance company was ordered to pay half a million dollars in settlement as a resolution for fraud allegations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office – Western District of Michigan.
We’re told Silveus Insurance Group and CEO James Cameron Silveus were accused of allowing false claims to be filed for federal crop insurance.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office adds the company will submit to a year-long monitoring period under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA).
Silveus reportedly acted as a crop insurance agent on behalf of Gaylord Lincoln, a Michigan farmer who had crops in Eaton, Calhoun, Jackson and Ingham counties. We’re told a complaint was then filed against Lincoln in December 2021 for allegedly plotting to claim more benefits than he was eligible for.
“The federal crop insurance program is designed to promote the national welfare by creating economic stability for farmers,” says U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge. “This system relies on producers and their insurance agents to submit truthful and complete information, and my office is committed to investigating any allegations of fraud on the federal crop insurance program.”
Lincoln’s case is still making its way through federal court, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says.
