Los Angeles Family Members Plead No Contest to Auto Fraud Charges

Three Los Angeles residents have pled no contest earlier in the week to charges of auto insurance fraud. David Chatalbashyan, 26, and his wife Aida Karapetyan, 26, of Glendale, and Chatalbashyan’s mother, Knarik Chatalbashyan, 52, of Los Angeles, each plead no contest in Los Angeles Superior Court to one felony count of insurance fraud and one felony count of conspiracy.

David Chatalbashyan is facing a sentence of up to two years in state prison. Karapetyan is facing a probation term and community service and Knarik Chatalbashyan is facing a probation term. Sentencing is scheduled for a later date. Another individual, Pablo C. Moreno, 25, of Montebello, had previously plead no contest to conspiracy and insurance fraud for his involvement in the alleged fraudulent insurance claim and was sentenced to probation and community service.

The claimants, David Chatalbashyan, his mother Knarik Chatalbashyan and his wife Aida Karapetyan alleged that their car was broadsided by another car driven by Moreno at a Glendale intersection on March 31, 2000. The claimants retained an attorney and started visiting a chiropractor for treatment of their alleged injuries. They submitted a claim for bodily injury and property damage to Moreno’s insurer, Western United Insurance Company.

CDI Investigators were informed that Moreno confessed to a Western United Insurance Company representative that the collision was actually staged. Moreno confessed that he was offered money by a capper to participate in a staged collision. Moreno gave his car to the capper and provided the capper with his insurance and identifying information. He received his car two days later with damage to its front left corner. Moreno never met the claimants and never saw their car.

A collision reconstruction that was obtained in the course of the investigation backed Moreno’s confession by pointing out that the collision could not have happened the way the claimants described it.