A Florida woman has been charged with threatening her health insurance provider during a phone conversation after police say she uttered the same words found on the bullet casings used in the killing of an insurance executive in New York.
The woman, 42, told a representative of Blue Cross Blue Shield, “Delay, deny, depose. You people are next” as they ended a phone call Tuesday in which she unsuccessfully challenged the company's denial of her insurance claim, Lakeland police say a recording shows.
The words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the casings left at the scene of the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO on a New York City street on Dec. 4. The words reflect the “delay, deny, defend” strategy some insurance companies use in dealing with expensive claims: Delay the decision, deny the claim and aggressively defend themselves.
A suspect is charged with murder in the insurance executive's killing.
When questioned by officers, the woman stated she used the words because “it is what is in the news right now.” She mentioned that she owns no guns and expressed her belief that insurance companies “are evil” and “deserve karma.”
The woman was arrested and charged with threatening to conduct an act of terrorism. She is being held without bail at the Polk County jail. Court records do not show whether she has an attorney, and a phone listing at her home address was disconnected.
The charge is a second-degree felony, which could be punished by up to 15 years in prison if she is convicted.
