Fraud charges lead to guilty plea, over $50,000 in restitution

Aviva Canada applauds joint work of the Ontario Crown Attorney's office, Toronto Police Service and Insurance Bureau of Canada

TORONTO, Sept. 17, 2013 /CNW/ - With the public becoming increasingly aware of insurance fraud, Aviva Canada, one of the country's leading providers of home, auto, leisure and business insurance, today applauds the resolution of fraud charges laid earlier this year against the owner of a healthcare clinic in Lindsay, Ontario. The guilty plea is the result of the joint efforts of Aviva Canada's anti-fraud team, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), the Toronto Police Service, the College of Physicians and Surgeons and members of the Ontario Crown Attorney's office in Toronto.

Aviva originally announced the charges in March 2013.

On Monday, September 16, Arun Reddy attended Ontario Provincial Court in Toronto and entered a plea of guilty to Fraud Over $5,000. His sentence was suspended and Reddy was ordered on probation for 12 months with the following conditions:

• Not apply or make application as a physician anywhere in Canada; and
• Not submit invoices to insurance companies for services rendered of any kind.

Reddy provided restitution payments totaling over $50,000 including $15,490 to Aviva Canada and another $36,717 to the IBC to be allocated among eight other insurers the accused defrauded.

"Charges, sentencing and restitution are critical in deterring future insurance fraud in Canada," said Greg Dunn, Executive Vice President, National Claims with Aviva Canada. "We would like to thank the Ontario Crown Attorney's office, the Toronto Police Service and the Insurance Bureau of Canada for all their work in supporting this action."

Building on already strong capabilities, Aviva Canada has stepped up its tough approach to tackling fraud with more dedicated resources and an investment in technology that aims to identify fraud and even anticipate the potential for fraud before it happens. With an industry-leading anti-fraud team in place, plus solid public sector and industry collaboration, Aviva is well positioned to combat fraud better than ever before.

About Aviva Canada
Aviva Canada is one of the leading Property and Casualty insurance groups in Canada providing home, automobile, recreational vehicle, group and business insurance to more than three million customers. A wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based Aviva plc, the company has more than 3,000 employees, 25 locations and 1,700 independent broker partners. Aviva Canada and its employees invest in positive change including through the Aviva Community Fund and Eva's Initiatives, its partner in Aviva's global Street to School program to help homeless and other at-risk youth reach their potential.

For more information visit AvivaCanada.com, our blog or our Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

SOURCE: Aviva Canada Inc.

Media Contact: 
Glenn Cooper
Senior Manager, Public Relations and Social Media
Aviva Canada Inc.
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