Your Health Insurance Dollars at Work (and Play)

Blue Shield of California fired a top executive last month after he spent more than $100,000 on his corporate credit card, the company says, including on trips with girlfriend and "Sharknado" actress Tara Reid. The details surfaced in a countersuit the health insurance giant filed Tuesday alleging fraud by Aaron Kaufman, the company's former chief technology officer. Mr. Kaufman went to great lengths to avoid scrutiny of his expenses, including intentionally misrepresenting his personal activities as corporate events. - Steve Shivinsky, a spokesman for Blue Shield. Blue Shield cited numerous examples of Kaufman's extravagant spending, some of which came to light after an employee event involving Reid at a San Francisco bowling alley. Some of the expenses cited by Blue Shield included $17,491 that Kaufman spent on a Florida vacation to see Reid. He also spent $832 for one night at the W hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with Reid on Jan. 21, according to the company. Three weeks later, he ran up a corporate tab of $1,382 on drinks at the Warwick, a Hollywood nightclub.But the night of bowling in early January drew the most attention inside Blue Shield. "At some point during the evening, Mr. Kaufman's girlfriend acted inappropriately, taking inappropriate photographs of herself and sharing them," the company said in court documents. Blue Shield confirmed that it was referring to Reid...

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