Tom Hanks falls victim to fraud at hands of insurance broker

Actor Tom Hanks was one of several victims of mail fraud perpetrated by insurance broker Jerry B. Goldman. Goldman, who was arrested yesterday morning, has been indicted on charges of mail fraud after allegedly over billing his clients by over $800,000.

Goldman, who is based in Thousand Oaks, will be arraigned in the United States District Court in Los Angeles this week on a ten count indictment which claims that Goldman purchased insurance products for his clients through his insurance agency and then created false invoices that exaggerated the premiums due, sometimes by as much as 600%. The indictment alleges that Goldman began over billing back in 1998 and grossed some $800,000 by August of 2011.

“In order to lull his clients into a false sense of security and to prevent clients from complaining to federal or state authorities or bringing a lawsuit against him, when clients asked his for copies of their insurance policies, defendant Goldman sent copies if the insurance policies to the clients and redacted the true premium from the policy documentation to prevent his clients from discovering that they had been overcharged,” the indictment said.

Exact losses for Hanks were not revealed in the indictment. Hanks has been keeping himself busy despite the scandal in recent weeks sporting a mustache around Hollywood. The actor has grown out his upper lip to play the role of animation pioneer Walt Disney in the upcoming film ‘Saving Mr. Bank.’ Set for release in December of 2013 the movie is about the making of the beloved film ‘Mary Poppins.’ Emma Thompson co-stars with Hanks as P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, who was so distraught at Disney’s handling of her book that the two never worked together again. Filming began back in September and will also feature performances by Colin Farrell, Jason Shwartzman, Rachel Griffiths and Paul Giamatti.