Federal Court filings

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Updated: January 19, 2012 10:27PM

HAMMOND

Insurance fraud case charged

A Gary man is charged with two counts of mail fraud in connection with illegally collecting payments from his insurance company. According to a federal indictment, Christopher Cannon, 43, filed a claim with Farmers Insurance Co. after his home was destroyed in a fire in January 2007. He listed personal property that he never owned, however, on the claim, according to the indictment. It says the he collected about $29,000 by doing this.

He also filed a claim with the company to reimburse him for living expenses he said he incurred by having to get a new apartment in Chicago, He collected $7,150 from that, it says.

Gary pair stole from government

Two Gary residents are facing charges of theft of government property in separate indictments filed in the U.S. District Court in Hammond.

Cynthia Ceasar, 48, and Fletcher Peterson, 67, were both charged. Caesar’s case says she stole more than $1,000.

Although no more information was available on the charges, a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office said that the Social Security Administration investigated both cases.