The state Attorney General's Office, under fire last year for not being tough enough on insurance scams, has boosted its fraud division from one prosecutor to five in an effort to knock down its backlog of cases.

The office, armed with an extra $400,000 in this year's budget to fight fraud, already has seen more than a 250 percent increase in the number of criminal convictions.

From July 1 to Sept. 30 of last year, the office had just seven criminal convictions compared to 25 during the same period this year. Civil actions also are up, from nine last year to 23 this year.

Trey Walker, spokesman for Attorney General Henry McMaster, said he expects the new team to significantly reduce the office's number of open fraud cases, which now stands at 691.

Walker also said the numbers this quarter would have been higher, but the office spent the first month and a half interviewing and hiring the new prosecutors.

"Next quarter, the numbers should be even more dramatic," he said. "When given the proper resources to fight crime, Attorney General McMaster delivers."

Insurance fraud, law enforcement and industry officials say, has been a growing concern in South Carolina, encompassing everything from staged auto accidents to bogus insurance companies that collect premiums but fail to pay claims.

In 2004, South Carolina had 595 complaints of insurance fraud, totaling about $5.3 million in estimated losses. National estimates put fraud costs between $80 billion and $120 billion annually.

Those losses ultimately get passed on to other consumers in the form of higher premiums. On average, that comes out to be an extra $1,030 more per family each year.

With the Attorney General's Office budget slashed in recent years from nearly $10 million to about $6 million, the office's insurance fraud unit took a hit as prosecutors gradually were reassigned to cover other areas.

Sen. David Thomas, a Greenville Republican who chairs the Banking and Insurance Committee, pushed earlier this year for an extra $400,000 to be put into the unit's budget, a move that more than doubled what the state was spending to fight fraud. Thomas could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Frank Knapp, president of the Small Business Chamber of Commerce, said businesses often bear the brunt of fraud. Knapp's organization, which lobbied for the increased money to fight fraud, now is encouraging businesses to report fraud cases. Increased prosecution, he said, will deter people from committing crimes.

"There are businesses that cheat," he said. "Not only does it hurt businesses in terms of increasing rates, but it hurts them in terms of competition."

INSURANCE FRAUD CASES

2004* 2005*

Criminal convictions

7 25

Civil actions

9 23

Court-ordered restitution

$15,883 $73,290

Open cases

745 691

*Numbers from July 1 through Sept. 30.

Source: S.C. Attorney General's Office