She is only in the seventh grade. But 12-year old Hortense Richey of Hughes Middle School in Greenville has become an expert of sorts on insurance fraud.

"The individual in the wreck is hurt, but not as bad as he or she states," Richey read from an essay she wrote. "Another example can be when an individual walks in the grocery store then slips and falls."

Richey placed eighth in a statewide essay contest on insurance fraud sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. For Richey, it was merely a classroom assignment.

She said she didn't expect to become a finalist.

"When I heard I had to write about it, I thought I wasn't going to make it. I was just going to write it to get a good grade," she told WYFF News 4?s Tim Waller.

Richey got a good grade, a mention on her school's Web site, a trophy and a check for $100. And like all the students who submitted essays, Richey learned that insurance fraud is risky business.

"They could go to jail and serve for a long time," Richey said.

Richey's teacher, Anne Weaver-James, says the insurance fraud assignment was more robust than most.

"Instead of grammar, punctuation and literary terms, I think they learned some life lessons," Weaver-James said. "They realize that their actions have consequences and that it boils down to telling the truth."

According to the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, insurance scams cost Americans more than $120 billion each year, and South Carolinians pay their share of the bill for these illegal activities. The agency says if insurance fraud were a business, it would be a Fortune 500 company.

There will be no fooling Hortense Richey when she starts driving in a few years.

"Because I'll know who is faking and who is not," she said.

Additional Information:

Winners Of Essay Contest On Insurance Fraud Hughes Middle School Web Site Insurance Fraud Statistics From The Insurance Information Institute