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Horse Insurance Fraud

This document summarizes the largest case of insurance fraud in the history of equestrian sports. Between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s, over 30 people were indicted for killing expensive insured horses to fraudulently collect the life insurance money. Some owners killed horses when they were unable to afford them, while others killed horses that were overvalued and they did not want to take the financial loss. Notable cases involved Tommy Burns who was hired to electrocute horses for their owners for fees between $5,000-40,000, and James Druck who had Tommy Burns kill his daughter's show horse Henry the Hawk for its $150,000 life insurance policy. Many of those involved served prison

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313 views9 pages

Horse Insurance Fraud

This document summarizes the largest case of insurance fraud in the history of equestrian sports. Between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s, over 30 people were indicted for killing expensive insured horses to fraudulently collect the life insurance money. Some owners killed horses when they were unable to afford them, while others killed horses that were overvalued and they did not want to take the financial loss. Notable cases involved Tommy Burns who was hired to electrocute horses for their owners for fees between $5,000-40,000, and James Druck who had Tommy Burns kill his daughter's show horse Henry the Hawk for its $150,000 life insurance policy. Many of those involved served prison

Uploaded by

Arsyad Noraidi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HORSE

INSURANCE
FRAUD

BIGGEST SCANDAL IN HISTORY


OF EQUESTRIAN SPORT
Cases of insurance fraud in the United States
Expensive horses were insured against death,

accident, or disease
Killed to collect the insurance money
Between mid-1970s and mid-1990s
36 people were indicted and tried for insurance

fraud, mail and wire fraud, obstruction of


justice,
extortion, racketeering, and animal
cruelty in connection with the horse murders

WHY?
In some cases, the owner was strapped for

cash and decided to insure and then kill


the horse
Sometimes

people

bought

over-valued

horses.
Rather

than taking a loss on poor


investment, these owners chose to finance
their next horse purchase by with
insurance fraud

DRUCKS HENRY THE HAWK


1981-Henry the Hawk was a show horse owned by 17-

year old Lisa Druck.


Her father James Druck handled her finances since she

was underage
1982-James Druck tried to sell his daughters horse for

$150,000 but only received the highest offer of $125,000.


James Druck hired Tommy Burns to kill Henry the Hawk

whose life insurance policy was worth $150, 000.


James

Druck died of cancer while he was under


investigation by the FBI in 1990.

THE HORSE KILLERS


Tommy Burns traveled the show circuit, visiting

stables with his athletic bag full of electrocution


equipment
Charges fees ranging from $5,000 to $40,000
He would kill horses for their owners who would

pay him with the money from insurance fraud


When he was arrested he was sentenced to 1

year jail and agreed to become an informant for


the FBI and help them with their investigation.

THE HORSE KILLERS


Harlow Arlie was hired by Tommy Burns as a

sub-contractor
Streetwise.

to

kill

horse

named

Tommy Burns couldnt electrocuted the horse

as it wasnt insured against colic.


Tommy

and Harlow decide to break


Streetwises leg so that a veterinarian would
be forced to put-down the horse

Harlow served eight months in jail

CONSPIRATORS
Paul Valliere
Horse trainer who hired Tommy Burns to

kill his show horse


insurance money

for

$75,000

in

Due to cooperation with law enforcement,

he was sentenced 4 years of probation


and fined $5,000

Also, he was suspended from participating

in equestrian events

CONSPIRATORS
Barney Ward
Friend of Valliere and a horse trainer
He arranged horse killings for wealthy owners
Ward arranged for Burns to commit 15 horse

killings
Sentenced to 33 months in prison, 3 years of

probation and a restitution of $200,000 to one


of the defrauded insurance companies.
He was also barred from attending sanctioned

shows of American Horse Show Association


(AHSA)

CONCLUSION
Horses are living beings that have feelings just like

humans do.

Theyre not supposed to be treated like an item or

possession that can be thrown away when its useless.

It was very unethical for all of those people who killed

their horse just to claim insurance money or to cover


their mistakes when the horses dont meet their
expectations.

We should be ethical in dealing with each other as

humans and also with animals.

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