United Church Victim of $1.2 Million Impersonation Fraud

The United Church of Marco Island has been the victim of a $1.2 million impersonation fraud, the Coastal Breeze News has learned. The church is in litigation against their insurance company, which has denied their claim, according to the church’s legal counsel.

“We have a lawsuit going against the insurance company,” said John Hughes, attorney for the church, "who improperly, in my opinion, denied the claim. We’ve filed a lawsuit because the insurance company should have provided coverage.”

Impersonation scams are a type of fraud initiated by a person who pretends to be someone you can trust in order to get sensitive data or steal money from you.

So far, the church has been able to recover $600,000.

“They were able to recover half of it,” Hughes said, “but the insurance company hasn’t paid a dime.”

The church’s insurance company, Lexington Insurance Company, has denied coverage, according to Hughes.

The church’s loss dates back to on or around March 2022, according to United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, Fort Myers Division documents. 

“It was done through email and through improper means and impersonation,” Hughes said. “They had a wire transfer done. And that was supposed to be a financial institution. They made it seem like it was going to be a proper transfer. They gave them incorrect information to an illicit account.”

Hughes said there wasn’t much more the church could have done to protect themselves.

“United Church is not to blame at all,” Hughes asserted. "It's very complex and very complicated. And the impersonation is so good that there's not a lot that can be done. You have to be vigilant. Make phone calls and confirm and stuff like that. And when the impersonation is so good that it seems like the person that you deal with at your financial institution or otherwise, it could be anybody. Somebody gets into the system and proceeds to figure out a way to impersonate. They utilize an email that's close to the other email and simulate it. United Church is a victim. The FBI was involved and the police. But it's essentially something that should have been covered by their insurance policy. And that's where we've stepped in and we're in litigation with the insurance company now for that reason.”

Hughes feels good about the church’s case.

“It's one of those things where we're in court and we're litigating and we think we have a very good case,” Hughes said. "It's not a matter of recovering or not. It's getting the insurance company to do the right thing. Ultimately we could end up in a jury trial."

Church officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.