Living the Dream, Keeping Up the Lie

ANDRIES J. BRUMMER

Christian Lionel Allan was 28 years old, single, good looking, tall and lanky, with short blond hair and a slightly receding hairline. He was fit and in the prime of his life. As the firstborn son, he was named after his father, a man he barely remembered. He took pride in the fact that he was a well-educated, white, young male with above-average intelligence. Coming from a difficult childhood in which money was always an issue, he dreamed of the good life and was not going to waste time getting what he wanted. He had something to prove. He was ambitious and had big plans, but to realize those plans, he needed money and opportunity.

Christian came from a broken family in South Africa and was passed on to family friends, Jeremy and Melinda Burger, at an early age. This left an indelible mark on the young man's mind during his formative years and led to his obsession with being financially self-sufficient. The Burgers were kind-hearted, childless people who welcomed Christian into their home as their own son. They saw to the needs of the young boy and made sure he was properly schooled. Jeremy Burger suffered from epilepsy, and this condition would eventually form the basis of Christian's false disability and income continuation benefits claim.

After finishing high school, Christian obtained his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at Blacks University. However, soon afterward, he decided that engineering did not quite fit his lifestyle and future plans, nor did it stimulate him. He entered the import and export business and registered a company by the name of Smoking Hot Tobacco Imports and Exports.

The company dealt in fine cigars (Cuban, Honduran, Dominican and Nicaraguan) and accessories, such as humidors, cases and cutters; e-cigarettes (a new technology offering one the closest experiences to smoking a real cigarette); specialist tobaccos and snuff; pipes (Peterson, Stanwell, Aldo Morelli, Parker and Savinelli, to name but a few); lighters; and so forth. Christian considered Smoking Hot Tobacco to be his ticket to financial freedom and universal respect as a successful businessman.

At the start of this venture, he took out a policy with Delta Life Insurance, which included the added benefits of disability and income continuation. Around this time, he befriended Dean Hubert Baron, a financial advisor who helped him select and take out the Delta policy. Dean acted as a third-party facilitator. Dean soon convinced Christian to become a financial advisor in his spare time to supplement his income. While studying to become an advisor, Christian learned of the possibilities of financial freedom that his life insurance policy afforded him. He did not have the time or patience to work toward such freedom; he wanted it yesterday. He saw an opportunity and was going to seize it.

Delta Life was established in 1999, and it was the first South African insurance company to separate risk from investment. Due to this unique business approach, the company had a 40 percent share in the independent broker risk market. For such a dynamic and innovative insurance company operating in a cutthroat industry, getting new business on the books was of the utmost importance. This hunger for new clients made the company vulnerable to possible fraudulent claims. The company itself employed approximately 7,000 people and was almost totally system-driven in its business approach.

The Family Illness

Christian's tobacco business was not performing as well as he had expected, and he worried about his dream slipping away. However, rather than sit back and watch his success ebb, he set upon a new plan for financial independence. He contacted Delta Insurance in June and asked to increase his payout benefits in the event that he was unable to work one day. He told the agent on the phone that his business was doing so well he wanted to make sure he would be able to continue living the good life, should anything happen to him. The increase was approved, and Christian's monthly payments increased slightly. On August 22, just over two months after increasing his benefits, Christian submitted an insurance claim for disability and income continuation benefits due to epilepsy; in total, he had had his policy with Delta for just over a year. His claim, if granted, would have given him monthly payments for the rest of his working years — the complete amount would exceed $2.5 million. On the claim, he stated that he suffered from the following symptoms:

• Sudden blackouts
• Constant headaches
• Five to seven epileptic episodes per week
• Difficulty with speech
• Periods of memory loss (e.g., driving his car to an appointment and suddenly not knowing where he was going, losing track of a conversation midway, forgetting words)
• Staring into space
• Sudden bouts of vomiting with no warning signs or nausea
• Tremors
• Uncontrolled twitching of his hands and legs

According to Christian, his symptoms made him unable to focus on running his business efficiently and prevented him from interacting with prospective clients. As per his own admission, his epilepsy also would not allow him to drive, because he was scared of having a seizure behind the wheel.

Following numerous doctors' consultations and tests, Christian was eventually diagnosed with epilepsy in June. It took so long because no doctor wanted to diagnose epilepsy outright, but none of them wanted to exclude it either. Christian was not displaying observable signs of epilepsy, but he was able to describe his symptoms accurately and convincingly. A few medical practitioners had their misgivings and voiced their opinions as such, but nothing was conclusive. Nobody wanted to commit themselves and make their practice vulnerable to malpractice lawsuits.

Watching and Waiting

I worked in the investigation department of Delta Insurance and specialized in surveillance. Christian's claim was referred to me by Jennifer Knowles, his claims assessor, because there were conflicting medical opinions regarding his epilepsy and she wanted to know if he actually displayed any symptoms. This coupled with the fact that he had increased his benefits a few months prior to submitting his claim raised the suspicion. However, Christian was on the warpath because he thought it was taking entirely too long for his claim to be finalized. He was increasing pressure on Jennifer to the point of being down-right aggressive and arrogant. She was fed up with his bullying and wanted conclusive evidence one way or the other so she could close the claim. I was tasked with doing surveillance on Christian in November, and I gathered a team of experienced investigators to help me conduct the assignment. It was a bright sunny day on November 17 when we began preliminary surveillance of Christian Lionel Allan's home and the surrounding area. The house was opposite a primary school in a predominantly middle-class suburban area. The house itself was a neat, well-kept, plastered brick dwelling with front porch, a black corrugated-iron roof, a double garage and a carport in front of the garage situated to the left of the main house. The front of the premises was fenced and had an automated sliding gate. The fence itself was partly overgrown with shrubs. At the time we arrived, kids were leaving the school, and the road outside his house was congested with parents and vehicles coming to pick up their children. We were able to take up spots on the street without attracting any attention. The front door leading to Christian's house was open, but there was no sign of anyone moving in or around the house, except for a small black and tan dog walking around the yard. There was a black SUV parked in the garage, but there was no sign of Christian's second vehicle, a champagne-color sedan. We spent the afternoon mapping out the area and deciding on the best vantage points for our continued surveillance.

The next morning we returned to the house. I knew Christian was scheduled for an appointment with a neurologist later that afternoon in Johannesburg, and we wanted to see how he would get to the clinic, because he had asserted that he could not drive. The sedan was parked in the garage behind the SUV; all was quiet in the block. My team and I took up our respective positions, and I was working as the hotspot (a term used for the surveillance operative who has sight of the subject or the area where he is expected). We readied ourselves for a long, hot day in the sun. About 45 minutes later there was movement outside the house, and I saw an elderly man and five dogs walking around the garden but no sign of Christian. I made a note that Christian was apparently a dog person.

Later on an elderly woman appeared on the porch and began to sweep. Not long after, the sliding gate opened and the sedan backed out of the driveway and into the road. I felt a sudden rush of adrenaline, and it was all systems go as I alerted the other operatives in the area. It is always exciting when we get the first bit of action on a case. I saw no passengers in the car and as soon as it moved up the road, I followed it to a nearby gas station. The driver got out to fill up the car, and I was able to positively identify Christian. He didn't seem to have any trouble driving by himself, I noted.

From the gas station, Christian made his way to a veterinarian's office, where he parked and got out carrying a small dog. I made a note that he had no hand tremors and seemed in complete control of his pet. I took up position in the immediate vicinity with a view of the vehicle. I took care not to be in Christian's immediate sight when he came out again. Approximately half an hour later he left the vet, got into his car and drove to a nearby shopping center, the Towers. He returned a few minutes later carrying a bag and drove off again, this time to a convenience store. He remained in his car for a few minutes, busy on his cell phone, before getting out and entering the store. Not long after he came out and crossed the road to another shopping complex. I noticed that he was walking briskly and determinedly as he crossed the road. He returned a few minutes later, got into his vehicle and drove off to yet another convenience store. He emerged soon afterward and drove straight home. We took up our positions again and got ready to play the waiting game.

About an hour and a half later, Christian left the house alone and drove away in his sedan again. We followed him to a local municipality office, where he parked and entered the building. Knowing he had an appointment with his neurologist, Dr. Diamond, in about an hour, we decided to drive to the doctor's office and wait for Christian to show up.

Around an hour later, we saw Christian drive up in his sedan, still the only occupant of the vehicle. He parked and made his way inside. As the neurologist's consulting room was open and we ran the risk of being exposed inside, we set up surveillance in a coffee shop in the main building to wait for him to leave. Less than an hour later we were almost caught off guard as Christian suddenly left the building — walking very briskly — long before his appointment was scheduled to end, and drove off. We quickly followed him, but traffic was heavy as it was rush hour and we lost him at an intersection just before the highway. We went back to his house but were unable to confirm if he returned because the garage door was closed and we did not see the sedan. We suspended surveillance for the day, but I recorded that he had driven alone at least three hours that day, had carried a dog with no trouble and walked around by himself without displaying any physical symptoms of epilepsy.

It was a sunny summer's morning on Tuesday, just after 6 a.m., when we returned to Christian's home to resume surveillance. All was quiet and there were no outward signs of movement. The sedan was parked in the garage. We played the waiting game for almost two hours before the sliding gate to the residence opened and my adrenaline started to flow. False alarm! An elderly white male with short gray hair, dressed in a floppy hat, beige shorts and a light blue T-shirt, came out to put the garbage bin on the sidewalk. He returned and closed the gate. A little after 8 a.m. the gate opened again and the same elderly male, now presumed to be Jeremy Burger, came outside with Christian, who was pushing a lawnmower. Christian started mowing the lawn while Jeremy held the electric cord. During this time we saw Christian empty the grass catcher several times. They finished and went back inside. Within a few minutes, Christian returned with a broom to sweep the side-walk then went back in. At 10:00 a.m. the sedan reversed out of the driveway, and we saw that Christian was driving. An elderly white female was in the front and Mr. Burger was in the back. They stopped at the gas station near the house where Christian filled up the car again.

From here they drove to a residential area in a neighboring town where they parked in front of a house, and all three got out of the car and went into the home. Christian emerged alone a few minutes later. We followed him to a business complex in Edenglen, a town about ten miles away, and saw him go into an office carrying a stack of paperwork. Approximately three hours later he left and drove back to the residential area, where he picked up the Burgers. Due to traffic congestion, we lost them on the drive back to what we presumed to be his house, and decided to resume surveillance the following morning.

The next morning we took up our usual positions and waited; the day promised to be a scorcher. The hours passed by agonizingly slowly until about 10 a.m., when the gate opened and we saw the sedan reversing out of the driveway. Christian was driving and both the Burgers were in the car. We followed them to a shopping center in town and waited for about 30 minutes while they shopped. After leaving the shopping center, they stopped at a convenience store before heading home. Shortly after they got home, an unknown elderly white male and a young woman driving a small car visited Christian. Luckily it was not a long, hot, tedious wait; after roughly an hour the visitors departed. Christian left alone in his sedan. We followed him for the rest of the day and saw him run various errands, including grocery shopping and picking up a friend at a pawnshop.

On the following Tuesday, I met with Christian's claims assessor, Jennifer, and filled her in on our surveillance efforts to that point. While I was in the room, Jennifer called Christian to obtain further information, and he made the following assertions:

• He last drove a car himself in May, more than six months ago. Now when he was in a car, it was only as a passenger and then only for a maximum of an hour, as he became tired quickly.
  • This was in stark contrast with the information we had gathered from the surveillance.
• He needed to be close to home in the event of a seizure.
• He was driven to his appointment with Dr. Diamond by a friend.
  • Again, our surveillance directly contradicted this. I saw him arrive at the doctor's office alone, having driven himself.
• He goes out of the house only occasionally when visiting doctors or with his parents to visit family.
  • Our surveillance directly contradicted this statement as well.
• He stayed at home every day cleaning, feeding the pets, sleeping and eating. He never had visitors because his condition was so restricting.
  • We had just seen two people visit Christian the previous day.
• His balance was so poor that he would fall when walking and trying to ride a bicycle. His coordination, reflexes and dexterity were poor; he dropped things from his dinner plate, was unable to catch items when they fell and so on. He said that was why he never drove, because he “cannot get the clutch right.”
  • Based on the evidence gathered thus far, this was a blatant lie. We saw him driving by himself on several occasions and also mowing the lawn without once losing his balance. We saw him walking without a problem and even hurrying across an intersection at one point. We saw him carrying a dog on one occasion and paperwork on another.
• He never left the house alone — even for a walk — because the risk of having a seizure or injuring himself was too high.

Jennifer thanked him for his time and hung up. She wrote a report of Christian's statements and noted the contradictory evidence for each point. My team and I continued our surveillance for a few more weeks to build up enough evidence to dispute Christian's claim. But in the meantime, Christian had become even more impatient with the claims process and demanded a mediator to assist in the case. Delta agreed and hired a mediator to review the case. The mediator read Christian's claim, our surveillance reports and the document that Jennifer filed after her phone conversation with Christian. After sifting through the evidence, the mediator told Christian that he must submit to a week-long epilepsy-monitoring session to be properly evaluated and to establish the severity of his seizures. Although Jennifer had requested that Christian undergo such an evaluation when he filed his claim with Delta, he had initially refused, stating that we were being unreasonable and trying to waste his time. However, he agreed to this request, perhaps because it came from a third-party mediator.

Jennifer set up an appointment for Christian to stay in a clinic run by Dr. Sanderson, a renowned specialist in the field, and Christian checked himself into the clinic — Mrs. Burger dropped him off for his appointment. Christian was set up in a private room and connected to various monitoring devices. He stayed the full week and was closely observed by the doctor and a team of nurses. Dr. Sanderson's final report conclusively ruled out the possibility that Christian suffered any form of epilepsy. Furthermore, Dr. Sanderson noted that the wires of the monitoring equipment in Christian's room “mysteriously became undone, something that has never before happened,” but that “they were reconnected before any valuable information was lost.” Our surveillance evidence and Dr. Sanderson's report provided Delta Insurance with enough predication to deny Christian's claim in totality. Faced with all of our observations, he declined to oppose the decision. Jennifer told us she had never been so happy to have a case closed, and Delta saved $2.5 million in fraudulent claim payments.

About the Author

Andre Brummer, CFE, was born and raised in Springs, Gauteng, South Africa. He served in the police service for about 13 years, mostly in the detective branch. While in the police service, he married and was blessed with a beautiful son and a daughter. After leaving the police service, he joined the corporate environment doing forensic investigations, specializing in surveillance for the past five years. During this time he finished his national diploma in policing and obtained his CFE accreditation. Currently Mr. Brummer is in the process of finalizing his studies for bachelor of technology in forensics degree at UNISA.