A Tulsa man who filed a bogus insurance claim and assaulted an insurance adjuster has been sentenced to life in prison.
Prentice E. Ponds II, 43, was on parole at the time of the crime. He has a long criminal history with multiple felony convictions.
Ponds was arrested in August 2015 after an investigation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department's Anti-Fraud Unit. Investigators found that Ponds had filed a fraudulent insurance claim on a 2014 Chevy Camaro with preexisting damage he had purchased off eBay. When an insurance adjuster went to Ponds' home to question him about the claim, Ponds became angry. He attacked the adjuster and took his file and audio recorder. The insurance adjuster was later treated for a head laceration and broken ribs.
Last week, a Tulsa County jury convicted Ponds of robbery and insurance fraud.
The court sentenced him to life for the robbery conviction and 25 years for the insurance fraud conviction.
Ponds' prior felony convictions included assault and battery, robbery, and burglary.
Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].