William Oldham Mize, the mastermind behind a complex multimillion-dollar insurance fraud operation in Washington, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $7 million in restitution.
Mize was sentenced Dec. 5 in Spokane, WA, by U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Washington.
Mize’s scheme, which ran from 2013 to 2018, defrauded insurance companies of more than $6 million by staging vehicle and boat collisions, as well as home “accidents.” Mize retained most of the stolen funds, which were used to buy luxury homes, vehicles and boats. The federal government has since seized more than $2 million of these assets, returning the proceeds to victims.
In addition to his prison sentence, Mize must serve three years of supervised release.
“For many years, Mr. Mize recruited, directed, and elaborately staged automobile and boat collisions as well as other injury accidents to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars," U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref said. "This scheme caused physical harm to his co-conspirators, including his wife and children, and placed the community in significant danger.”
In 2019, Mize fled supervision after being indicted. Living under false identities, he evaded authorities for nearly five years before being apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service in Jacksonville, FL, in late 2023. Mize was attempting to sell a yacht while using an alias.
“Mr. Mize spent years living off the misery he caused,” said Gregory Austin, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “While he enriched himself, his co-conspirators, which included family members, were left with physical injuries and jail sentences.”
The scheme also defrauded the IRS of more than $400,000. “Mr. Mize endangered his family and the public for money,” noted Adam Jobes, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle field office.
