In brief: Two accused of dental claim scheme
Two former employees at a Liberty Lake dental clinic are accused of making false insurance claims in excess of $17,000 using a company computer system.
Kendel Sonsalla, 38, and Robin Loewen, 46, were charged this week with two counts of false insurance claims and one count of first-degree theft in Spokane County Superior Court. Both worked at Condon Dental in Liberty Lake.
The insurance company Aflac paid Sonsalla $6,470 for 19 false claims and Loewen more than $10,800 for 32 false claims they filed using family members’ names between June 2010 and March 2014, according to court documents. They allegedly filed billings using the company computer system and printed out the documents, then deleted the electronic versions before they appeared on account ledgers.
“It’s no different from going into a grocery and stealing off the shelf, or a jewelry store,” said Dr. Michael Condon, the owner of the clinic, whose brother is Spokane Mayor David Condon. “It’s no different to me.”
Condon said both women quit their jobs during the investigation, and no money was stolen directly from patients.
Sonsalla’s ex-husband tipped off Aflac to the false claims in April 2013, court documents say. The investigation was carried out by the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
Both women face up to 364 days in prison and fines of up to $5,000.
Second West Nile case found in Idaho
BOISE – Two women in Idaho have been infected with the mosquito-borne illness West Nile virus, marking the first confirmed human cases within days of each other in Idaho this year.
One woman is in her 60s from Washington County, but did not require hospitalization.
However, the second woman – who is in her 40s from Payette County – was hospitalized after reporting symptoms beginning in early July. She is still recovering.
Mosquitoes have tested positive for the virus in nine counties: Adams, Washington, Valley, Gem, Payette, Canyon, Ada, Owyhee and Bingham. A horse in Washington County has also tested positive for West Nile.
West Nile is usually contracted from the bite of an infected mosquito. It is not spread from person-to-person through casual contact.
Symptoms of infection often include fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash.
Life sentence for slaying police officer
SEATTLE – The man convicted of killing a Seattle police officer in 2009 has been formally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Christopher Monfort was convicted last month of killing Officer Timothy Brenton. The jury rejected his insanity defense.
King County Superior Court Judge Ronald Kessler said Thursday that “this court sentences Mr. Monfort to die in prison.” Monfort replied: “Make it so.”
Monfort’s defense didn’t dispute that he killed Brenton. Instead, they argued he was mentally ill. His attorneys said Monfort believed if enough police officers were killed, the deaths would put an end to instances of police brutality.
At the sentencing hearing Monfort said he was sorry about shooting Brenton and admitting he had killed “a good man.” But then he began yelling about all police officers being bad and deserving death.
As he yelled, Brenton’s family walked out of the courtroom.
Driver killed in train-vehicle crash
PUYALLUP, Wash. – A BNSF Railway spokesman said one woman has died after a northbound commuter train struck her vehicle in the Puyallup area.
Spokesman Gus Melonas said the Sound Transit train operated by BNSF crews hit a vehicle around 5:15 p.m. Thursday. He said witnesses told investigators that the woman drove around crossing gates and stopped on the tracks. He said the crew also sounded their whistles.
She was the only one in the vehicle. No other injuries were reported.
The train was headed from Tacoma to Seattle.
USGS awards $4M for quake warnings
SEATTLE – The U.S. Geological Survey has awarded $4 million to four universities in the Pacific Northwest and California to boost the development of earthquake early warning systems.
The University of Washington, the University of Oregon, the California Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, received the awards, which were announced Thursday.
The goal is to improve and test a coastal system designed to detect potentially damaging earthquakes and alert people seconds before severe ground shaking takes place.
The USGS also spent an additional $1 million on 150 new and upgraded sensors to improve the speed and reliability of the warnings.
Reykdal to run for state schools chief
SEATTLE – State Rep. Chris Reykdal said he plans to run for Washington superintendent of public instruction in 2016.
The Democrat from Tumwater was a classroom teacher before going to work as a staff member for the Washington state Senate. The OSPI job is a nonpartisan race.
Reykdal has served two terms in the state Legislature and is on his community college’s board of trustees. This past session, he sponsored the bill to temporarily eliminate the need to pass a science test in order to earn a high school diploma.
Randy Dorn is the current superintendent. He was elected in 2008 and 2012. The next election for the job will be held in November 2016. State law would allow Dorn to seek a third term.