By: Shakeel Mustafa
Nine people face felony charges in San Diego County stemming from an auto insurance fraud ring in which the perpetrators filed bogus claims for collisions and thefts that never happened.
The suspects were identified through a two-year investigation called Operation Persistent, conducted by the San Diego Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force.
State and local authorities said Thursday that the fraud ring had filed 34 false clams for auto property damage over several years, using schemes that included staging collisions and using vehicles that were already damaged.
The fraudulent claims totaled about $200,000 and about $125,000 was paid out, authorities said. Among the insurance companies identified as victims were Allstate, Access, GEICO, Infinity, State Farm, Rental Insurance Services, Fred Loya, Nationwide, Alliance, Farmers, Nations and Travelers.
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a news release that insurance fraud is not a victimless crime.
“We all pay for these crimes when insurers pass along the losses through higher premiums,” Jones said.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the people charged in the case are: Yesenia Perez, 26; Darice Orozco, 37; Oscar Vargas, 31; Jesus Diego, 31; Roberto Ramirez, 27; Abel Ramirez, 31; Maria Linares, 24; Juan Augustin, 30; and Francine Moreno, 25.
Six of the defendants were arrested on Jan. 31, and police are still searching for Moreno. Two defendants were not arrested but received notices to appear in court.
Roberto Ramirez, Abel Ramirez, Vargas and Orozco pleaded not guilty this week in San Diego Superior Court. The others are expected to be arraigned this week and early next week.
About the author:
Shakeel Mustafa lives and works in San Francisco, California. He has in-depth knowledge of preventing auto-Insurance frauds. Shakeel Mustafa was raised in South Africa. During the decade of conflicts he saw the rise of Nelson Mandela, guiding the black majority to freedom. He moved to San Francisco after completing his Bachelor's Degree in Finance from Washington State University, Seattle, Washington and started to work for the State Farm Insurance Company as a Claim adjuster. His primary role was designated to provide competitive auto insurance quotes to the new State Farm Insurance customers. His expertise was focused on investigating the claims submitted for insurance fraud.
No comments:
Post a Comment