Orange County Resident Sentenced for Insurance Fraud

As a result of an investigation by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) Fraud Division, an Orange County resident plead guilty in Orange County Superior Court to one felony count of insurance fraud.

Raymond Ellis Wilson, 36, was sentenced to 60 days in Orange County Jail with an additional 30 days of jail time for a probation violation, as well as three years probation.

In July of 2000, Lori Beall was involved in a rear-end collision with another vehicle operated by Kaileen Cassedy. Beall and Cassedy inspected the minor damage to the vehicles and Beall accepted full responsibility for the accident and asked Cassedy to forward an estimate for the damage.

Several days later, Beall received a phone call from Raymond Wilson, the owner of the damaged automobile. Wilson claimed the repair estimate to his automobile was approximately $3,500. Beall asked Wilson to send photographs of the damaged vehicle to verify the alleged damage caused in the collision. Upon reviewing the photographs, Beall came to the conclusion that the automobile she struck was not the one photographed. She referred Wilson to her insurance carrier for reimbursement and notified her carrier that she felt the claim was fraudulent and should be investigated.

Beall’s insurance carrier hired an Accident Reconstructionist to review photographs of both vehicles involved in the accident. It was determined that Beall could not have caused the damage to Wilson’s automobile. A review by the California Highway Patrol confirmed that most of the body damage alleged to have occurred in the collision could not have occurred as stated by Wilson.

Based on the investigation, Beall’s insurance carrier denied Wilson’s claim.

Topics Fraud