Aggrostats

Troopers assigned to the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations brought three criminal cases to conclusion this past week resulting in three arrests.

On May 20^th, 2011, Cassandra Wall, (B/F age 59) of Baton Rouge, LA, was booked into the Orleans Parish Correctional Center on charges of Insurance Fraud and Theft in the amount of $10,294.00. The arrest resulted from an investigation into a complaint made by the Chartis Insurance Company alleging that Wall had submitted fraudulent claims following Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav. Through further investigation, troopers discovered that in 2005 Wall had provided Chartis Insurance a fraudulent rental lease for her Baton Rouge residence in order to collect additional living expenses after being displaced from her New Orleans home due to Hurricane Katrina. Investigators also discovered that in 2008 Wall filed a fraudulent claim with Chartis Insurance claiming damage to her New Orleans residence from Hurricane Gustav when in fact it was previous unrepaired damage from Hurricane Katrina.

On May 24^th, 2011, Travis Short, (W/M age 43) of Mandeville, LA, was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail charged with Possession of Stolen Property and Theft by Fraud in the amount of $31,000. The investigation began after the Louisiana State Police Insurance Fraud / Auto Theft Unit received a complaint from Levis Chevrolet in Slidell in reference to a 2006 GMC 2500 pickup truck with a switched Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plate. Upon further investigation, troopers were able to determine that the vehicle was stolen from Miami, FL and traded into Levis Chevrolet by Short for a payoff of $31,000. Short surrendered himself to investigators at the St. Tammany Parish Jail where he was booked on the above charges.

On May 24^th, 2011, Amanda Sylve, (W/F age 35) of Shreveport, LA, was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail on 15 counts of Obtaining a Controlled Dangerous Substance by Fraud following an investigation into alleged “doctor shopping”. Through investigative measures, Louisiana State Police Narcotic Detectives determined that Sylve was receiving prescriptions for controlled dangerous substances from five different doctors in the St Tammany Parish area. Sylve failed to notify the doctors of the existing prescriptions she was receiving from the other practitioners. Upon issuing an arrest warrant for Sylve, troopers learned that she had relocated to the Shreveport area. Sylve was later located and arrested by Shreveport Probation and Parole Agents and transported back to St. Tammany Parish.

Anyone wishing to report criminal or suspicious activity to the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations is urged to contact detectives at 985-543-4182 or cid_hammond@dps.la.gov.

The Louisiana State Police on-line reporting system is also available to the public through a convenient and secure reporting form that is submitted to the appropriate investigators. Citizens can access the form by visiting www.lsp.org and clicking the Suspicious Activity link.

Contact Information:
TFC Nick Manale
Public Affairs Unit Troop L
Louisiana State Police
Office: (985) 893-6250
Nicholas.Manale@dps.la.gov
www.LSP.org