A Washington, D.C., police officer recently was sentenced for insurance fraud for filing a false claim with his auto insurance carrier.

According to Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr., Calvin Roots, of Maryland, bought a 1993 Chevrolet pickup truck from a dealer who purchased the vehicle at an abandoned vehicle auction. Five days after he got a permanent registration and title for the truck, he reported the truck stolen to his insurance company.

Roots told his insurance company, verbally and in writing, that the truck had 80,400 miles less on the odometer than it actually had, and that the truck had an extended cab and V-8 engine. The vehicle identification number proved that the truck had a conventional cab and V-6 engine. Because of his bloated claim, Roots was paid $3,059 more than the truck was worth by his insurance company.