The owner of a Vail insurance company has agreed to a settlement over claims of fraud involving crop insurance. The U.S. Justice Department says Russell Hawley and Hawley Insurance Incorporated of Vail have agreed to pay $834,897 dollars to settle allegations that they caused false claims to be submitted to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed against Hawley federal district court in Sioux City, the principal owner of Hawley Insurance in. The lawsuit alleged that Hawley submitted forged crop insurance applications and other false documents to a private insurance company designated by the federal government to sell federally reinsured crop insurance policies.
The government was required to pay out on these policies when the insured crops failed.