Media Contact: Darren Ellingson Deputy Director (602) 364-3471

For Immediate Release September 24, 2013

PHOENIX - On August 7, 2013, Gabriel Christopher Morris was arrested in Tucson, AZ, by agents of the Department of Insurance Fraud Unit and the Tucson Police Department. Morris allegedly took the identity of a Tucson resident and opened up credit card accounts and had financed $23,416.92 for a 2008 Dodge Durango using the victim’s identity. He also obtained an insurance policy through GEICO Insurance and was in the process of making a second accident claim when it was discovered he was using the victim’s stolen identity.

GEICO contacted the Arizona Department of Insurance Investigations Division and with the help of Tucson Police Department arrested Morris when he showed up at GEICO to pick up a claim check. Morris was found in possession of what was believed to be methamphetamine and a fraudulent Arizona driver’s license belonging to the victim that had Morris’s photo on it. Property was recovered during the vehicle search that was reported stolen from three Tucson residences and two vehicle burglaries in San Diego, Calif. Numerous other victims’ identifications were found along with equipment Morris had used to make fraudulent Arizona driver’s licenses.

Morris was charged with several felonies involving Fraud Schemes, Theft, Forgeries, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Insurance Fraud. The case is being prosecuted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

Consumers who suspect insurance fraud are encouraged to call the Fraud Unit of the Arizona Department of Insurance at (602) 364-2140.

About the Arizona Department of Insurance

The Arizona Department of Insurance, an agency of the State of Arizona, is responsible for the education and protection of insurance consumers and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.