After falsely reporting his custom motorcycle stolen, one Sacramento, Calif. former prison guard will soon be singing his own rendition of "Folsom Prison Blues" on the other side of the cell.
Authorities nabbed Joseph A. Torrez, 40, then sergeant for the California Department of Corrections, at his place of employment, Folsom State Prison, on April 22, 2009. Following his arrest, Torrez was booked at the Sacramento County Jail and later convicted of insurance fraud.
The seeds for Torrez's role reversal were planted on August 5, 2008, when he claimed his 2005 custom motorcycle was lifted from the garage of his mother's house. Torrez spun the yarn that, upon arrival at his mother's home, he observed that the yard gate was ajar and the roll-up door to the garage was open -- bike nowhere to be found. He then promptly reported the theft to State Farm Insurance.
According to the office of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, on March 9, 2009 the National Insurance Fraud Crime Bureau contacted the Sacramento County Urban Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force with information about the possible location of a stolen motorcycle. State Farm had previously paid approximately $18,654 for the loss on the motorcycle.
An anonymous caller contacted the insurance company, alerting them that insurance fraud had allegedly been committed. The informant led the task force to the location of the motorcycle at a home in Galt. The motorcycle was seized.
Torrez was convicted and sentenced on March 4, 2010 to 240 days in the Sacramento County Jail, along with five years of probation. In addition, the court ordered him to pay more than $26,365 in restitution to State Farm Insurance Company.
The Auto Task Force, which has been in operation since 2001, targets any form of organized auto insurance fraud, including staged theft and vandalism rings, staged auto accident rings, and other types of organized insurance fraud. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office prosecuted the case.
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