Fraud of the Week
December 25, 2017
Auto Giveups—Brooklyn NY
Amount: $10,072.10
In a classic example of Auto Giveups, a New York woman was arrested this week for allegedly filing a fake insurance claim for a car that had been impounded by the DEA after her boyfriend was arrested during a drug investigation. The Buick Enclave was registered and insured in the woman's name, and it was impounded when her boyfriend was arrested. Instead of attempting to get the car back from the police, she reported it stolen to her insurance company and made statements supporting the falsified claim to the company. She also reported her vehicle stolen to the New York Police Department to support her false claim. She reported that she had several items of high value in the vehicle when it was stolen, including a purse worth $1,455, and a white diamond ring worth $1,000. Her claim was paid out at $10,072. The DEA subsequently ran a DMV check for records of the car and discovered that she had reported it stolen almost two months after it was seized and while the DEA was still in possession of the vehicle. She is due back in court at the end of January and faces up to seven years in prison.

