Fraud of the Week
Auto Fraud – Idaho
Amount – $2582.22
After pleading guilty an Idaho man has been sentenced to two years of supervised probation and a $500 fine in a conviction for insurance fraud. The court also imposed 150 days of suspended discretionary jail time that the probation officer may use as he sees fit. He has been ordered to pay $514.97 in restitution to the Idaho Department of Insurance and $2582.22 to his insurer.
In 2018 the man filed a police report claiming his vehicle had been stolen. He told the police the vehicle had no existing damage other than a few dings. The vehicle was recovered a few days after the reported theft with significant damage and it had been partially stripped.
Unfortunately for the insured, the insurance investigators received copies of photos from the insured's dealership of the vehicle that were taken the week before the theft. The photos showed that much of the damage on the recovered vehicle was there before the theft, and that there was no roof rack, as the insured had claimed. The carrier denied his claim. He admitted to filing the report in hopes his carrier would pay for the damage to the vehicle.