Two alleged whistleblowers are suing Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and its affiliates for alleged racketeering, wrongful termination and concealment of information from state regulators.
The lawsuit alleges Farm Bureau officials repeatedly concealed from regulators in Iowa and other states instances of fraudulent activity committed by company agents or employees. The defendants’ conduct in the matter amounts to racketeering, obstruction of justice, and mail fraud or wire fraud, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit was filed by James Newton and Brent Meskimen, former police officers who later became special investigators for Farm Bureau. They are suing Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Co., FBL Financial Group, Farm Bureau Financial Services, and the West Des Moines law firm of Wickham & Geadelmann in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Also named as defendants in the case are several Farm Bureau executives and attorneys.
The lawsuit claims Farm Bureau officials “engaged in a scheme to defraud insurance policyholders, insurance and other governmental regulatory authorities, and other participants in the insurance industry who are complying with their mandatory duty of reporting fraud and other fraudulent or other illegal acts.”
It also claims the defendants violated Iowa’s law on the wrongful discharge of employees in violation of public policy. That law prohibits the termination of employees for refusing to participate in...
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