When Durasmoke, an electronic cigarette company based in Milwaukee, received two simultaneous calls complaining about exploding electronic cigarettes' battery, they were instantly suspicious. The company had never had even a single complaint or incident until they received these two complaints coming from the same small city.
After investing the call, the district lawyer found that one woman made up the story in a bid to get some quick cash. The woman complained that the battery of her electronic cigarettes exploded and burned the carpet for her rental home. She, therefore, asked the company to pay her about $4,500 for property damages. The administration of the company felt like the call was suspicious, because in less than a month, a man from the same small city called and claimed that his electronic cigarettes caught fire, causing the damages worth $3000 for his apartment.
The Durasmoke contacted the office of the district lawyer, where lawyer Ann Targonski came to their rescue. The lawyer also believed that the claims against electronic cigarettes were suspicious, since most people would file compensation claim for damage reimbursements to insurance companies instead of retailers.
After conducting a serious investigation on the matter, Targonski could not find any evidence to disprove the initial complaint, but the exploding electronic story by the court was quickly debunked. It turns out the woman didn't have her own rental home, but lives with her parents. When the Targonski confronted the court about the lie, she eventually realized that the story was made up and the woman called the company hoping to make some quick cash.
Now, the court is formally charged with a criminal attempt to commit theft by deception. It is, therefore, important for the public to understand that making false claim to get money is highly illegal. In fact, fraudulent crimes of this nature lead to increased insurance rates for all private retail companies selling consumer goods across the world and should not be allowed.