Suspect arrested in $500,000 Columbus insurance fraud scheme

One of 26 suspects in a $500,000 fraud scheme has been arrested.

Deidra S. Holmes, 35 of Cuthbert, Ga., was arrested and faces insurance fraud, theft by deception, identity fraud and racketeering charges.

She was booked into the Muscogee County Jail on Tuesday.

Holmes is one of 26 suspects in the case centered in Columbus. Twenty-one of the suspects were arrested in June. The entire group faces 326 charges.

“This fraud ring staged phony accidents and filed fraudulent claims collecting thousands of dollars,” Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said in June. “I said my office was going to be tough on insurance fraud, and hopefully these arrests will send a strong message that I am serious about cracking down on insurance fraud.”

The following agencies assisted in the 16-month investigation: the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office, the Lumpkin Police Department, the Richaland Police Department and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

The Muscogee County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute the cases.

A dozen insurance companies were victims.

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Suspect arrested in $500,000 Columbus insurance fraud scheme."