The schlock thickens in the case of a pair of twisted sisters-in-crime who befriended homeless men, took out insurance policies on them naming themselves as beneficiaries, and then ran the men over with cars for the insurance money.

Besides waiting two years to kill and collect, as a standard insurance provision makes a policy valid after two years even if fake info was used on the application, the women employed legal strong-arming to gain their bloody monies. From the LAT:

“They were bullying the insurance companies into making sure they paid off, threatening a lot of lawsuits,” said Gonzalez, an investigator for the CA Dept. of Insurance. “In one instance, they filed a complaint with the Department of Insurance, saying their claims were not being handled properly. They knew how to deal with these companies. They were very comfortable trying to collect on the money they felt they had coming to them.”

In 2001, the family of one of the homeless men took the pair to court, suggesting that foul play was involved in Paul Vados’ death in a Hollywood alley and that the women should not receive proceeds from the life insurance.

The women fired back in court papers: “The sole issue before the court … is whether admissible evidence that Rutterschmidt and Golay feloniously and intentionally killed Paul Vados has been produced. It has not!”

Detectives say Golay may have a background in insurance and has been involved with dozens of insurance-related lawsuits over the past twenty years. Was then Golay, 75, the brains and Rutterschmidt, 73, the brawn?

The women were arrested for federal mail fraud but the police may add a charge of murder by investigation’s end.

“These were sophisticated people,” State Insurance Investigator Garamendi said. “They knew what the insurance system was all about, and how to manipulate that system.”

“Alleged Scammers Had the System Down Cold” [LAT]

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