A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to two felony counts related to staging car crashes, according to the Nevada attorney general’s office.
Martin Curiel-Guerra, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of multiple transactions involving fraud or deceit, a category “B” felony, and one count of insurance fraud, a category “D” felony. Curiel-Guerra defrauded insurance companies out of more than $10,000 between May and June of 2012.
“Staged car crashes are on the rise in Nevada, and this office will continue to pursue and prosecute these crimes,” Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt said in a news release. “These staged crashes are extremely dangerous to all involved. I encourage drivers to practice defensive driving and to be aware of the known types of staged collisions.”
http://liarcatchers.com/insurance_fraud.html
The charge of multiple transactions involving fraud or deceit carries a potential 20-year prison term and a fine of up to $10,000. Insurance fraud is punishable by up to four years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000.
Curiel-Guerra is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 1 in the Eighth Judicial District Court.
Curiel-Guerra, with the help of a co-defendant, was involved in a scheme to defraud auto insurance companies by staging car crashes. As the driver, he intentionally caused three separate car crashes and enabled other co-conspirators to make fraudulent insurance claims.
As a result of the scheme, the City of Henderson, Nevada Highway Patrol, Nationwide Insurance Company and Sentry Insurance Company suffered losses of more than $10,000.
