I came across this story online just recently, that of a man who has been sentenced to prison after being found to have scammed insurance companies. The style was typical, only he was not directly ripping off the customers and car owners who came to his shop—he was ripping off their insurance companies.
Robert Buckingham of the Robert Christopher Collision practiced the fraud from 2005-2006. Some of the things he did are as follow:
- He exaggerated the damage of cars brought to his shop in order to get more money on insurance claims.
- He claimed for payment on new parts despite the fact that he used old parts on the cars brought in for repair.
- In a similar manner, he claimed for payment on replacement parts when in fact he just fixed the damaged parts on the cars of his customers.
- He filed insurance claims for repairs that were not actually finished.
It was found that Buckingham committed the fraudulent act together with other employees working in the facility. Some of these employees have already admitted to the act and were given their respective sentence some years ago. The case includes five vehicles, and the insurance companies involved are New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance, Travelers Auto Insurance, Selective Insurance, and Mercury Insurance. The defendant pleaded guilty to the fraudulent act.
As a result, he has been sentenced to three years in prison, and possible fine for civil insurance fraud. As of now, a complaint is also filed to ask for the forfeiture of the property utilized by the facility.
You see, auto repair rip offs and fraud can take on many forms, but they’re all the same any way you look at them. And, it’s a good thing that people are starting to take action about this situation.
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