Elvira Marcela Santamaria of Baldwin Park, Calif., turned herself in to the Tulare Superior Court, Visalia Division, after learning a five-count auto insurance fraud and grand theft warrant had been issued for her arrest.
The 22-year-old woman was hired in January 2000 as a contract employee by the Farmers Insurance claims office in Visalia. She was responsible for issuing auto insurance claim checks to insureds and claimants. After two months of employment, a fellow employee discovered that a claim check had been issued to Santamaria despite her not being a party to the loss.
When confronted, she initially denied responsibility, but later admitted to Farmers Insurance auditors and District Attorney investigators that she issued a total of five claim checks to herself between March 2000 and April 2000, without authorization, from five different auto claims totaling more than $2,400. Prior to the criminal complaint being filed, Santamaria paid back the funds she had taken from Farmers.
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Bring It On: AI Strategy Sways Underwriter Choices of Employers 
Mapfre to Acquire Safety Insurance for $1.54 Billion in Cash Deal 
State Farm to Begin Issuing Dividend Payments to Louisiana Drivers 
CBIZ Brokerage to Be Spun Off, Backed by Private Equity, After $5B Grant Thornton Deal From This Issue
