Title: Regional Carrier Uses Blockchain Timestamps to Expose $2.3M Property Fraud Scheme
Challenge:
A Southeast regional property carrier with 85,000 policies received a $2.3 million claim for extensive foundation damage to a commercial warehouse. The policyholder submitted dozens of photos showing severe structural cracks and water intrusion, claiming the damage occurred during a recent storm. The adjuster found the damage extensive but noticed the photos looked professionally staged. The carrier suspected pre-existing damage but had no way to prove when the evidence was actually captured. With litigation looming and the policyholder's attorney demanding settlement, the carrier needed verifiable proof of the photos' creation timeline.
Approach:
The carrier's SIU team discovered the policyholder had used ProofLedger six months earlier for a different property matter. They requested the blockchain anchoring records for all files uploaded to that evidence pack. ProofLedger's dual-chain verification system had anchored SHA-256 hashes of the damage photos to both Polygon blockchain (instant verification) and Bitcoin blockchain (through daily merkle proof batches). The investigation team accessed the immutable timestamp records showing the exact block height and transaction data for each photo hash. The blockchain timestamps proved the photos were uploaded 127 days before the reported storm date — not after it. The carrier then compared these blockchain-verified timestamps against weather service records and the policy effective date. The evidence pack contained 34 images, all anchored to the blockchain months before the claimed loss event.
Result:
The carrier denied the claim and referred the case to prosecutors. Faced with irrefutable blockchain evidence that met FRE 901(b)(9) requirements for self-authenticating records, the policyholder withdrew the claim before reaching court. The carrier avoided a $2.3 million payout and identified two related fraudulent claims from the same scheme. The blockchain audit trail provided the litigation team with court-admissible evidence that couldn't be disputed or manipulated. Total investigation costs: $8,400. Recovery: $2.3 million claim avoidance plus $890,000 in related fraudulent claims.
Key Takeaway:
Blockchain timestamps create an immutable audit trail that proves when evidence actually existed — not when someone claims it was created.
ProofLedger provides neutral temporal authority for pre-loss evidence through blockchain-anchored timestamps. Learn more at proofledger.io?ref=case_study.
