A New York policeman filed an insurance claim for a missing diamond ring while it was being worn by his fiancée

A police officer in New York has been arrested for filing a fraudulent insurance claim for a diamond ring that he reported missing but was actually being worn by his fiancée.

The man, John Barnett, faces a single felony count of insurance fraud. If convicted, he could be sentenced to seven years in prison.

According to prosecutors, Barnett purchased the diamond for approximately $15,000 in July 2006. Barnett had the stone set into a $2,200 18 karat gold setting. He then insured the ring with USAA, an insurance company that serves current and former military personnel, in December 2006 for $28,375.

Barnett reported the ring missing in 2007. He filed a claim with USAA, telling the insurer he lost the ring while going to a jeweler to have it cleaned.

Investigators later tracked his fiancée and photographed the ring on her finger.

Topics