Thinking about a little insurance fraud to boost up your income? Well, think again. And again.

State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is out today with the cautionary tale of one Michael C. Madsen of Bellevue, who “learned the hard way that insurance fraud does not pay.”

Madsen was convicted in King County earlier this month for filing a fraudulent insurance claim. It’s a class C felony.

We’re not talking Bernie Madoff here. Madsen was convicted after claiming the loss of a DVD system. His insurance company, State Farm, “became suspicious when Madsen filed the second claim and began investigating.”

The Insurance Commissioner’s Special Investigations Unit became involved. The unit has the authority to seek criminal charges in cases of insurance fraud.

But justice was kind. A first offender, Madsen received a sentence of 31 days for his crime. He was given credit for one day served and the remaining 30 days were converted to community service, according to the commissioner’s Web site. Madsen will also be required to pay restitution to State Farm.

For more information about insurance fraud – to report it, avoid it or learn more about it – visit www.insurance.wa.gov or click here.

Downtown Tacoma’s Sea Grill Restaurant at 1498 Pacific Ave. will serve its last meal over the weekend.

Owned by Mackay Restaurant Group in Seattle, the grill will close its doors after serving dinner this Sunday, General Manager Mike Neumann said.

Neumann said the restaurant’s chef Matt Brandsey will make more information available in a release this afternoon.

UPDATE:

In a statement from Mackay Restaurant Group, COO and CEO, Chad and Paul Mackay said the restaurant is closing because they were unable to work out new terms with their landlords "during these challenging economic times."

The statement said they will try to place employees from Sea Grill at other Mackay restaurants.

The Mackays said El Gaucho Tacoma, also managed by the restaurant group, has seen an increase in first quarter earnings over last year and will remain in business.

The recent closure of the UPS Brown Store in the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center is a symptom of the store’s inaccessibility to drivers on a one-way portion of Commerce Street, said Mike Combs, Public Assembly Facilities Director for Tacoma.
Less traffic to the convention center from out-of-towners didn’t help either.
“I believe it’s just the economy and that business was down,” Combs said Tuesday. “It’s unfortunate, because it served a great purpose for the convention center.”
The store was the only retail business located within the center, though its storefront was accessible from the outside as well.
A Starbucks across the street from the center also closed late last year.
Combs said the two closures aren’t necessarily related to or reflective of the center’s success thus far.
“The center is actually doing fine, even with this economy,” he said. “Since people aren’t traveling as much, we have a lot of local business, but, unfortunately, that doesn’t turn into a stay.”
Stays in nearby hotels, visits to downtown restaurants and shops and other revenue generators are the economic drivers of the center, which is currently being used more for local meetings than by visitors.
The UPS store space will be made into a meeting room, which Combs said will continue to generate revenue for the center.
Combs said he’s hopeful the center still will bring travelers — and their money — into Tacoma, though they might have to wait out the economic storm a little longer.
“I’m confident in the convention center. All the centers are suffering, but who isn’t?” he asked. “We’re just hoping that it turns around sooner rather than later.”