These four distinguished award categories honor and celebrate excellence, collaboration, and leadership across law enforcement and the insurance industry.
Law Enforcement Insurance Fraud Fighter
Insurance Industry Fraud Fighter
Guy E. “Sandy” Burnette Team Award
Jerry Zappolo Distinguished Service Award
These awards spotlight real results and professionals who make a meaningful impact.
Nominate someone deserving whose work truly made a difference.
Qualification Requirements:
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Nominations are limited to concluded cases/investigations that significantly impact Florida’s fight against insurance fraud that may include arrests but not necessarily convictions, financial settlements/restitution, administrative actions, or claim withdrawals occurring during 2025-2026.
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A nominee will not be eligible for multiple awards involving the same case/investigation.
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A Manager of the case/investigation conducted by a lead investigator/detective of the insurance fraud investigation is not eligible for an award.
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Nominations must include specific details about the actions the nominee undertook to advance the investigation that achieved a positive outcome.
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Basic office skills such as returning phone calls, scheduling appointments, attending meetings, etc. will not be considered as qualifying criteria.
Awards
Recognizing their Important Work
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Law Enforcement Fraud Fighter
This award recognizes Florida law enforcement officials, analysts, or prosecutors who served as the lead in an insurance fraud investigation.
Nominations must be based on a specific case or investigation that concluded during 2025 and prior to the 2026 conference.
The nominee must be the primary individual who directly led and advanced the investigation. Supervisors or management personnel who did not serve in a direct lead role on the case are not eligible for nomination under this category.
Insurance Industry Fraud Fighter
This award honors Florida insurance professionals who led and advanced impactful insurance fraud investigations resulting in meaningful outcomes. Nominations must be based on a specific case or investigation concluded during 2025 and prior to the 2026 conference.
Eligible nominees include insurance investigators, insurance analysts, and insurance defense attorneys who served as the primary lead on the investigation or case.
The nominee must be the individual directly responsible for driving the investigation forward. Supervisory or management personnel who did not serve in a direct lead role are not eligible for nomination under this award category.
Guy E. "Sandy" Burnette Team Award
This award recognizes outstanding joint investigative teams that demonstrate exemplary collaboration across agencies in the insurance industry. Nominations are limited to cases or investigations concluded during 2025 and prior to the 2026 conference.
The award honors the combined efforts of multiple organizations involved in combating insurance fraud, including but not limited to the NICB, FBI, law enforcement agencies, insurance investigators, and analysts.
Eligible nominees for the Guy E. “Sandy” Burnette Insurance Fraud Fighter Team Award are lead individuals directly involved in the investigation or case. Management personnel of the lead individuals are not eligible for nomination in this category.
Jerry Zappolo Distinguished Service Award
The Jerry Zappolo Distinguished Service Award is FIFEC’s highest and most prestigious honor, recognizing a sustained career of leadership, integrity, and enduring contributions to combating insurance fraud and education to the public.
This award celebrates an individual member of the profession whose work has had a lasting impact at the local, national, or international level, resulting in significant advancements in the pursuit and prevention of insurance fraud. Recipients embody intellect, integrity, leadership, and accomplishments that define excellence in the fraud-fighting profession.
Nominations are not limited to a specific year, though nominees’ years of service and related activities should be detailed. This award is not necessarily given annually but is reserved for truly exceptional contributions. Eligible nominees are individuals who have significantly advanced public awareness of insurance fraud and have promoted proactive efforts to combat it.
FIFEC Awards Committee
Anthony “Tony” Parker, Chair
Lt. Mark Johnson, Vice-Chair
Jennifer Newell, Committee member
Jarred Dichek Esq, Committee member
Kerri Bosworth, Committee member
