Indiana Twp. man charged with defrauding Highmark of over $50K in security clothing

An Indiana Township man was taken into custody Tuesday amid criminal allegations he defrauded Highmark Health of more than $50,000 in connection with the purchase of clothing for security personnel.

Derek Robert Dowiak, 37, has been charged with 11 counts of forgery, two counts of theft by deception, one count of unlawful use of a computer and one count of deceptive or fraudulent business practices.

Dowiak surrendered to detectives with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.

Dowiak was a general manager for Allied Universal Security, a Green Tree-based company paid by Highmark to provide security at its locations, investigators said. Highmark buys jackets for Allied employees to wear on the job at a cost of up to $200 apiece.

Highmark suspected Dowiak of submitting fraudulent invoices for reimbursement of jackets he claimed to have purchased with his personal American Express card, beginning with the Dec. 31, 2020, billing cycle, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint said administrative officers for Allied sat down with Dowiak, interviewed him and fired him. His arrest papers indicated he admitted to the thefts on the spot.

Highmark Health investigator Denise DeMarco provided copies of fraudulent invoices to detectives with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. Also noted was the random use of invoice numbers as opposed to the sequential order normally used.

Police said Dowiak admitted creating false invoices on his work computer and transmitting them via the Allied computer system to other areas of Allied and Highmark.

Following his arraignment, he was released on his own recognizance. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 8.