Auto Fraud—California

Amount: Unknown

A California woman was sentenced to three years in prison for fleeing the scene after fatally hitting a pedestrian and subsequently filing a false report to her insurance company that her vehicle had been vandalized. At 2:00 a.m. she struck the victim as he was crossing the street. She drove off without helping the victim or calling 911. The victim died at the scene of the accident. Later that day, she filed a claim with her insurance company for vandalism that had been done to her vehicle, stating that the vandalism had occurred while her car was parked on the street. She claimed that she had found the vehicle with damage to the driver's side and windshield areas. She also filed a police report for the vandalism to her car. A witness saw media coverage of the hit-and-run and reported a vehicle matching the description of the hit-and-run was at a body shop being repaired. She pled guilty in court for felony hit-and-run causing death and felony insurance fraud.