Following a successful joint investigation by State Farm and the Ohio Department of Insurance, anotherinsurance fraud scammer is behind bars. The Fulton CountyCommon Pleas Court has sentenced Kelli Reyes to 10 months in prisonafter pleading guilty to felony insurance fraud in connection withan alleged home robbery in 2011. The court also ordered theWauseon, Ohio woman to pay the prosecution expenses and $1,148.15in restitution to State Farm.

The Department began its investigation in Nov. 2011 after beingcontacted by State Farm, Reyes' insurer at the time. State Farmreported having received a suspicious claim from Reyes for itemspurportedly stolen from her residence during a break-in earlierthat year. The Department learned that Reyes had submitted twofalse receipts in an attempt to substantiate ownership of assortedpower tools and bicycles allegedly stolen during the break-in. Thisinformation helped unravel the alleged break-in, which turned outto be based more on fiction than fact.

“Because of the hard work of the Fulton County Prosecutor'sOffice, and the State Farm and Department of Insuranceinvestigative teams we were able to successfully close this case,”said Mary Taylor, Lieutenant Governor and Department of InsuranceDirector. “Insurance fraud raises the cost of insurance for all ofus, and the department will continue to pursue those who choose tobreak the law.”

Source: Ohio Departmentof Insurance