Thirty-two people have been charged in connection with a San Diego-area car insurance fraud ring that cost insurers more than $800,000.
California Department of Insurance investigators said that the ring filed 45 potentially fraudulent car insurance claims, related to 56 vehicles, over the past four years, according to a report by The California News Times.
Prosecutors said that members of the ring bought used or damaged cars at significantly reduced costs and filed inflated insurance claims, reporting the cars as stolen or crashed in order to collect insurance payments.
The insurers affected by the scam included National, Stonewood, USAA, California Insurance, Allstate, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Esurance, GEICO, Kemper, Wawanesa and AAA.
So far, four of the 32 people charged have been sentenced in connection with the scheme, according to the News Times. Seven are still at large. Almost all of the suspected fraudsters come from the San Diego area.
