Eye In The Sky Breaks Case
In eastern New Orleans, police say that a couple who intentionally damaged the roof of their home to claim insurance money was arrested March 16 on insurance fraud charges. State Police investigators used satellite imagery to support their case against Elaine and Russell Lane, who have since been released on bond of $5,000 each.
Investigators say the couple broke their roof some three weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, based on satellite images taken immediately after the storm and afterwards. Such imagery “gives us a good idea of what properties were like and what they looked like after the storm and before residents were allowed to come back in,” explains Lt. Allen Carpenter, supervisor of the State Police’s anti-fraud division.
He says his unit now has to examine each suspected fraud case to see if it is worthwhile to purchase high-resolution satellite images, which are so accurate that they can distinguish between sections with or without shingles and whether an area had been flooded.
Carpenter says his department also intends to use the technology to help solve auto fraud cases involving flood water damage claims.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the New Orleans Times-Picayune (03/18/06) P. 1; Lee, Trymaine .
