LV couple arrested in insurance-fraud case

A Las Vegas couple indicted last week by a Clark County grand jury on felony insurance fraud was arrested Tuesday in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Ernest Spaulding, 52, and Diana Wiczek-Spaulding, 53, are being held by Colorado authorities pending extradition to Nevada.

The indictment says the Spauldings purchased a $750,000 home in Las Vegas and insured it with Fireman's Fund. Within four months, the indictment says, they had made four claims against the policy, one for alleged wind damage. An investigation showed the claim was false.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said the Spauldings played the same scheme against Chubb Insurance and California State Automobile Association.

The couple then tried to turn the home into a bed and breakfast and took reservations. They were evicted after making only one payment in 14 months, but they kept the deposits on the reservations for the bed-and-breakfast business, the indictment says. Del Papa said the couple moved to Palm Springs, Calif., leaving more than $100,000 in unpaid bills to creditors, employees and vendors.

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