Opinion
December 17, 1959.
March 24, 1960.
Criminal Law — Insurance — Fraudulent claim — Offense separate from fraudulent obtaining of insurance — Indictment — Language — Conspiracy — Words and Phrases — "Fraudulent" — "Prejudice" — Act of May 17, 1921, P.L. 682.
1. Paragraph (b) of § 349 of the Act of May 17, 1921, P.L. 682 (which provides that any person who makes a fraudulent claim against an insurance company, whether any policy was lawfully procured or procured by fraud, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor), defines a crime separate from that set forth in paragraph (a); in order to sustain a conviction of one who submitted a fraudulent claim, it is not necessary to establish, also, that he obtained the insurance fraudulently.
2. In this case, in which it appeared that defendant was indicted for violation of § 349 (b) of the Act of 1921, that the language of the indictment was in substantial conformity with the act and fully informed defendant as to the nature of the charge, and that the form of the indictment was not made subject to criticism in the course of the trial except as to one minor item which was amended at defendant's request, it was Held, that the court below properly concluded that any minor or immaterial defects had been waived.
3. Where it appeared that the indictment also charged defendant with conspiracy with others to cheat and defraud an insurance company; that the trial court charged that it was requisite that there be proof of a fraudulent loss of claim, that the common meaning of the word "fraudulent" is "dishonest", and that in the instant case it characterized false representation of material matters made with knowledge of their falsity and with intent to deceive; and that the trial judge further defined "prejudice" as meaning "to the harm, to the injury, to the disadvantage of someone"; it was Held that the court below did not commit reversible error in the charge.
Before RHODES, P.J., GUNTHER, WRIGHT, WOODSIDE, ERVIN, and WATKINS, JJ. (HIRT, J., absent).
Appeals, Nos. 437 and 438, Oct. T., 1959, from order of Court of Quarter Sessions of Bucks County, Nov. T., 1958, Nos. 46 and 47, in case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Felix DeBellis. Order affirmed.
Same case in court below: 20 Pa. D. C. 2d 153.
Indictment charging defendant with misrepresentations for the purpose of attempting to collect on insurance and with conspiracy. Before BIESTER, P.J.
Verdict of guilty and judgment of sentence entered thereon. Defendant appealed.
Hymen Schwartz, for appellant, submitted a brief.
Ward F. Clark, Assistant District Attorney, and Paul R. Beckert, District Attorney, for appellee.
Argued December 17, 1959.
The order of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Bucks County is affirmed on the opinion of Judge BIESTER, President Judge of the 7th Judicial District, reported at 20 Pa. D. C. 2d 153.