Liberty Insurance manager sent to prison for 5 years after crime spree of five years
Jelly Chua Li Li, a senior claims manager from Liberty Insurance, has been jailed for cheating the firm to fund her lavish lifestyle for five years.
In her position, Chua could authorise payments on insurance claims filed, and her authorisation limit rose from $30,000 to $100,000 as she rose through the ranks, as reported in an article by The Straits Times.
From 2015 to 2020, Chua had submitted 131 fraudulent insurance claims which amounted to $790,793. The money was paid into her bank account as well as her husband’s. She also transferred $66,869 to a Malaysian bank account.
To pull off the crime, Chua reused old invoices and reopened closed files so that she could create and approve more claims that were credited either to her or husband.
In September 2020, one of Chua’s colleagues noticed duplicates of payments made to the law firm that had been providing services to the firm. Once an investigation was conducted, many duplicate and fraudulent payments were found under Chua’s name. After being confronted, she admitted to her crime. The firm only recovered $17,021 from what Chua had taken.
Chua had used the money to fund her travels overseas, luxury bags, shoes, high-end cosmetics, and meals in expensive restaurants. She pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating and two charges of dealing with the benefits of her crime.
Chua was sentenced to jail for five years and one month.
