Three individuals who allegedly conspired to collect on an auto insurance policy while having their car dismantled so that its parts could be used or sold separately have been busted by authorities in California.

In the scheme, Ana Laura Salgado-Antunez reported that her 2006 Nissan Armada was stolen while parked outside the house of Ninfa Patricia Ramos-Ortiz, a friend of hers. She subsequently filed a theft report and alerted her insurer, Mercury Insurance Company. But during the claim adjustment process, Mercury discovered that Ramos-Ortiz and her son had driven the car into Mexico the day prior to it being reported stolen.

As the case continued to unravel, authorities from the California Department of Insurance's Fraud Division and the California Highway Patrol learned that the reasons for the fraud were typical. Salgado-Antunez, the primary driver, was behind on her payments and the vehicle was not running properly. She and Ramos-Alarcon believed that they could no longer afford to keep the vehicle, so they paid an individual a sum of money to drive it to Mexico to dispose of it. Once in Mexico, the vehicle was turned over to a chop shop.

All together, five people were involved and 14 felony charges filed. According to the CDOI, each felony insurance fraud charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

The potential value of the claim was reported at more than $27,000.

Interested in more fraud news and in-depth articles? Head over to Claims' fraud channel for more information.

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