Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced a grand jury returned five indictments charging seven men with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
The men charged are John J. Kurant, Jr., of St. Augustine, Adam Horvit, of Parkland, and Christopher E. Labaire, Greg Wilson, Jerold Wolfe, John Grant, and Scott Coleman all from Jupiter. They each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison if convicted. The Department of Justice says the indictments of Kurant and Labaire cite that Boat U.S. paid out $853,758 in insurance proceeds based upon the sham and fraudulent marine insurance claims.
The DOJ says the scam, worked by Kurant, a claims adjuster for Boat U.S., partnering with Labaire, defrauded their marine insurance program by creating and submitting fake insurance policies and claims. The claims included the other men as pleasure boat owners who experienced 'total losses' including theft, damage, or sinking. When the boat insurance claims were paid, the DOJ alleges the seven men shared the money.