FORMER MAIF EMPLOYEE SENTENCED FOR FELONY THEFT

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Karla E. Biven of the 500 block of Bay Drive in Stevensville was sentenced in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County and placed on probation for felony theft. Biven, 36, was employed as a claims adjuster with Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund until her resignation in January of 2005 for reasons unrelated to this case. This matter was referred to the Insurance Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Office of the Attorney General by MAIF after an internal audit uncovered certain suspicious claims that were handled by Ms. Biven. The Honorable Joseph P. Manck sentenced Manck to probation before judgment and placed her on probation for sixty days. He also ordered her to perform twenty four hours of community service. Ms. Biven had paid full restitution to MAIF prior to her trial date.

In a statement of facts presented by the prosecutor, the court learned that in two separate instances in 2004, Biven had fraudulently added fictitious claimants to legitimate automobile accident claims and then disbursed approximately $7366.00 in fraudulent claims settlements to an acquaintance.