Detroit couple accused of disability insurance fraud charged

A Detroit couple accused of making $150,000 in fraudulent disability insurance claims has been charged, officials said.

Tukua Young, 42, and Brandon Young, 36, were arraigned Saturday in 36th District Court in Detroit on multiple felony charges, the Michigan Attorney General's Office said.

Tukua Young is charged with one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony; a count of obtaining between $20,000 and $50,000 under false pretenses, a 15-year felony; two counts of obtaining between $1,000 and $20,000 under false pretenses, a 5-year felony; and two counts of committing a fraudulent insurance act, a 4-year felony, the office said.

A magistrate set her bond at $50,000 and scheduled her next court hearing for Friday, court officials said.

Tukua Young's attorney was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

Her husband, Brandon Young, is charged with a count of conducting a criminal enterprise; two counts of obtaining between $20,000 and $50,000 under false pretenses; and two counts of committing a fraudulent insurance act.

A magistrate set his bond at $25,000 and scheduled his next court hearing for Friday.

His attorney was also not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

Authorities allege Tukua Young filed three fraudulent claims with an insurance company between 2016 and 2022 and received $55,952.70. In 2022, she allegedly filed another claim with a different insurance company and received $23,105.73.

They also said Brandon Young allegedly filed two similar fraudulent claims in 2019 and 2020 with the same insurer and received $70,434.

Investigators said the couple claimed to be disabled from working at a group home that reportedly does not exist. In 2022, Tukua Young allegedly made a false insurance claim that she was disabled but continued to work.

"Making fraudulent claims siphons resources away from people who need them and raises insurance costs for everyone else," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. "My office remains committed to holding accountable those who exploit our insurance system."

Earlier this month, a Southfield man convicted of defrauding state unemployment insurance agencies of $6.3 million during the COVID-19 pandemic was sentenced to 94 months in prison.

And a doctor who operates a Shelby Township-based chain of vein and cosmetic centers has been accused a second time by the federal government of falsely billing for various vein-treatment services.

Last month, a Kent County man convicted of wire fraud was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

@CharlesERamirez