Beltsville Man Convicted of Insurance Fraud

BALTIMORE, MD ( June 14, 2010) -Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Walter Nelson Cannaday, 50, of Beltsville, pled guilty and was sentenced on a single count of felony insurance fraud. Judge Maureen M. Lamasney of Prince George’s County Circuit Court imposed a 15 year sentence, suspending all but seven years, five years probation, and ordered $56,500 restitution.

On October 8, 2007, Cannaday filed an insurance claim with Penn National Insurance. He alleged that while working as a subcontractor on a site in Prince George’s County and laying fiber optics on behalf of Verizon, boxes were “fried” because he laid the wrong cable. Cannaday told the claims adjustor that STARZ Technology, the contractor that hired him, billed him $78,290 for the damage he caused by putting in dual cable instead of single. Cannaday supplied fraudulent documents to Penn National in support of his claim. Penn National paid out on the claim and issued a check for $56,500. However, an investigation revealed that no boxes were ever damaged and that Cannaday was not the subcontractor at the location. It was further determined that the laying of fiber optics or the connecting of fiber optics cannot cause anything to burn or “fry.”

The conviction follows a joint investigation by the Insurance Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration, the Maryland State Police and the Office of the Attorney General. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorney General Roberta Siskind for her work on the case.