278: Insurance Fraud

Melvin Eugene Hanson was dead. The 46-year-old had apparently passed away in his doctor’s office after he’d called to complain about chest pain. Right away, investigators were suspicious. Why had Melvin’s doctor encouraged him to come into the office? Why not tell him to go to the emergency room? Dr. Richard Boggs was quick to provide an answer. He said that Melvin didn’t trust other doctors. But investigators couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:

“Blood, Sweats, and Tears” episode The Real Murders of Los Angeles

“Mistaken for Dead” episode Forensic Files

“After Doctor Claims a Man Died in His Office, Cops Uncover a Murder and $1 Million Insurance Scam” by Joe Dziemianowicz, oxygen.com

“Murder-for-insurance scam nearly eluded authorities” by The Associated Press, Lancaster Eagle Gazette

“Prosecutors Again Seek Death Sentence for Doctor” by James Quinn, The Los Angeles Times

“Doctor gets life for murder scheme” by The Associated Press, North County Times

“Killer in Fraud Case Draws Life Sentence : Courts: No chance of parole for businessman Melvin Hanson, who murdered bookkeeper in plan to fake his own death.” By Nancy Hill-Holtzman, The Los Angeles Times

“Jurors Split Verdict in Insurance Murder Case” by Nicholas Riccardi and Ann W. O’Neill, The Los Angeles Times

“Notorious Swindler Recounts Notorious ‘Just Sweats’ Case, Including His Mysterious Vanishing Act” by 10tv.com, WBNS 10 News

“Neurosurgeon Turns Into a Killer to Finance His Life” by Sabana Grande, medium.com

“Fraud, Murder, Bike Shorts: A Just Sweats Timeline” by Rebecca Reisner, forensicfilesnow.com

“’Just Sweats' fraudster seeks second chance after 2 decades in prison” by Staff Writer, The Columbus Dispatch

“People v. Hanson” casemine.com

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