Joe Bink Wooten was arrested at his residence in Laguna Beach, Calif. and charged with three felony counts of insurance fraud.
An investigation by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) Criminal Investigations Branch revealed that on Oct. 15, 2000, Wooten was allegedly driving his 1990 Nissan 300 ZX through a parking lot in Costa Mesa when he was struck by another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle reportedly drove off before Wooten could obtain the license plate of the vehicle. Wooten reported the hit and run accident to the Costa Mesa Police Department and his insurance company, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company in San Diego.
Wooten’s vehicle sustained approximately $4,000 in body damage. He also claimed to have suffered neck and back injuries from the collision and was treated by a local chiropractor. As part of his automobile claim with Wawanesa, Wooten submitted two bills for reimbursement from Howard’s Garage in Irvine for alleged expenses he incurred. One of these bills was for a car rental in the amount of $539. The other bill was for alleged repairs done to his vehicle in the amount of $1,035.
An investigation by Wawanesa and CDI verified these two bills to be false. Wawanesa paid $1,035 before discovering the bill was a forgery. After discovering Wawanesa was investigating his automobile claim, Wooten withdrew his claim.
He faces up to five years in state prison and/or a fine up to $50,000 if convicted.
Topics Auto
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