Dallas man sentenced to more than 13 years in multi-million dollar insurance fraud

DALLAS - A Dallas man who is considered the architect of a nearly $5 million insurance fraud was sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison on Thursday.

Jordan Ford, 32, was charged via criminal complaint in June 2024 and pleaded guilty in September 2024 to criminal information charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud. 

He was sentenced Thursday to 157 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who also ordered him to pay $4,471,338.92 in restitution to the defrauded insurance companies. 

The backstory:

According to court documents, Ford and his coconspirators recruited insurance company employees to pull clients’ personal information from legitimate insurance claims. The employees handed those details over to Ford. 

Using the stolen information, Ford – posing as the client – called the insurance companies and requested they update the payment information to accounts he and his coconspirators controlled. 

Other times, Ford paid insurance employees to lend him their company-issued laptops, logged onto the companies’ systems, and authorized and issued payments, which were sent to accounts he and his coconspirators controlled. 

In total, the coconspirators misdirected funds from at least three insurance companies, netting more than $4.4 million. 

All nine defendants charged in the scheme have pleaded guilty, including Ford’s lieutenant, Humberto Corona; Jaquan Hall and Elexis McLain, who recruited insurance employees and received and distributed fraudulent proceeds; and insurance employees Timothy Starling, Desiree Thomas, Daja Webb, and Sesedrick Wedlow, who were compensated for handing over stolen client information and allowing Ford to access company systems.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Texas Department of Insurance conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht is prosecuting the case.