SPOKANE, Wash. — William Oldham Mize pled guilty on August 7 to orchestrating a massive insurance fraud scheme, tax fraud and for failure to appear in court.
Vanessa Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Mize’s plea was accepted by U.S. District Jude Thomas Rice and a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for November 6, 2024 in Spokane.
According to the accepted plea agreement, Mize is accused of being a ringleader of an insurance fraud scheme that intentionally caused car and boat accidents as well as staged home “accidents” that allowed him to file false insurance claims and collect the proceeds.
In December 2018, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Washington found probable cause to indict Mize and others on numerous charges including mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to a press release, Mize's scheme took place between 2013 and 2018 in Washington and Nevada and Mize made more than $6 million.
Mize appeared in federal court on January 9, 2019 for his indictment. However, in July of 2019, Mize fled from supervision and began evading police and living under false identities.
On November 28, 2023, U.S. Marshals took Mize into custody in Jacksonville, Florida based on a lead that Mize was attempting to sell a yacht under a fake identity, and transported him back to Eastern Washington.
“Mr. Mize attempted, but ultimately failed, to avoid the consequences of his fraudulent and dangerous schemes,” said Walfred. “Over the course of several years, Mr. Mize defrauded insurance companies out of millions of dollars by staging fake accidents that caused real, physical harm to his co-conspirators and others. These schemes greatly increase insurance premiums and costs for everyone, making it more expensive for ordinary Americans to own a car and to have reliable transportation for themselves and their families. I am grateful for the excellent investigative work by our law enforcement partners and prosecutors in my office, as well as the tireless dedication of the U.S. Marshals to locate and return Mr. Mize to the Eastern District, where he finally will be held accountable for the great harm caused by his fraudulent scheme.”
The FBI, Internal Revenue Service, and U.S. Marshals Service worked to investigate this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Jeremy J. Kelley are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
“The United States Marshals Service worked as one team with the IRS and the FBI in this case to relentlessly pursue this fugitive until he was apprehended, in spite of his resources and intent to avoid capture, stated Gavin K. Duffy, Chief Deputy United States Marshal for Eastern Washington. “While this case has garnered significant attention, the partnership and teamwork between local, state, and federal agencies occurs every day in Eastern Washington to maximize both benefit to our community and to ensure Rule of Law is maintained.”
