Insurance Fraud Lawyer in Los Angeles
Insurance fraud is a huge area of focus for prosecutors and law enforcement agents in California because insurance companies lose millions of dollars every year. Depending on the circumstances of the case, even the government loses money.
Some prosecutions for insurance fraud are under Penal Code Sections 548, 549, 550, and 551, usually having to do with auto insurance. At the same time, the EDD can prosecute other insurance-related fraud issues – if somebody is involved in insurance fraud – talking about workers' compensation fraud or other types of fraud where insurance companies are being fraudulently deceived out of money.
Auto Insurance Fraud
Suppose it's a situation where a person is being prosecuted for auto insurance fraud this usually has to do with somebody trying to gain money from an insurance company by fraudulent means. They may do something related to their car where they claim their car was stolen, damaged, or destroyed, and then they end up attempting to collect insurance proceeds.
But in reality, they were the ones behind whatever happened to their vehicle because they either didn't want to make the payment anymore or they tried to collect the money and spend it on something else.
I have seen all sorts of things used to catch people. The first thing I can tell you right now is that when the insurance company gets the claim, the first thing they attempt to do is get out of paying it, so they're going to look at every angle.
They've been cheated out of money before, so if they think somebody is trying to cheat them, they have investigators, and they will send them out to try and prove that the person is attempting to cheat them. They will not pay the claim.
They will take statements under penalty of perjury, recorded statements, and again, they will even get law enforcement involved and make a false report of a crime so that the person is prosecuted criminally so they don't have to pay whatever claim the individual is making.
Defenses To Insurance Fraud In California
Usually, the defenses in these types of cases are going to hinge upon what the facts of the underlying case are. In other words, if somebody somehow damages or destroys their vehicle, then the insurance company is going to have to prove that they are the ones that did it – either by direct evidence where they have witnesses, videos or by circumstantial evidence – which basically means that when you look at everything it appears that the person somehow fraudulently damaged or destroyed their car.
But of course, with evidence, they are going to be able to prove everything. So, when it comes to a defense in an insurance fraud case, your defense attorney is going to look at all of the angles of the case.
He will talk about it with you, and he will decide whether or not it's a defensible case and what evidence needs to be obtained in order to present the defense and refute the charges of insurance fraud because insurance fraud is obviously a very serious crime.
Legal Penalties
You can be looking at up to typically three years in prison if it's filed as a felony or a year in jail if it's filed as a misdemeanor—which basically means it's a wobbler. So, the prosecutors have discretion as to whether they want to file it as a felony or a misdemeanor, and that's usually decided on a number of different factors.
For example, how sophisticated you were when you committed the crime, what the dollar amount was of the loss, in other words, the value. They're also going to look at your prior criminal record. Do you have a clean record, or have you done something like this before?
And then, of course, your defense attorney will have something to say about it and argue for you to try to keep you out of custody and get the minimal charge so that your record is protected now and into the future.
What I do when I have a client who is charged with some sort of insurance fraud—and again, you can tell just from this little bit of information that I've given you here on my website—is that in Los Angeles, there are all sorts of different insurance frauds that can occur. Having done this for twenty-five years, I've seen so many different angles and examples that they're just too numerous to name here.
Developing a Solid Defense Strategy
Suffice it to say, though, that if you're charged with insurance fraud, we have you come into the office, and we go over all the facts. Obviously, it's in the privacy of my office, and it's under the cloak of the attorney-client privilege—nobody knows what the discussion is.
I encourage you to be straightforward and honest so I can understand what's going on. Once everything is clarified, we'll discuss some of the strategies that can be deployed, depending on the information available.
Another piece of the puzzle that we'll need before we make all the decisions is the police report, which lays out, from the prosecution's standpoint, what evidence they have against you.
Once we have that piece of the puzzle combined with your version of events and my experience, now we'll be in a good position to discuss everything and come up with a solution to the problem because nobody wants to be in the criminal justice system, especially charged with insurance fraud in Los Angeles and facing jail time and loss of a number of different rights that you possess.
Contact our Law Firm
The Hedding Law Firm is seasoned and well-experienced in dealing with insurance fraud charges. Insurance fraud consists of attempting to collect on an insurance policy fraudulently. Common ways to commit insurance fraud are putting false information on an insurance application/policy, destroying property for the sole purpose of collecting insurance money, and faking an accident or injury.
Insurance fraud charges are very serious, and if you are being charged with insurance fraud, you need a criminal defense attorney to defend your case.
The penalties you may face as a result of an insurance fraud conviction are jail time, excessive fines, probation, parole, and restitution. If there are any mitigating factors, the court may consider alternative sentencing. This is why hiring the right defense attorney makes a difference.
We have handled many criminal cases involving fraud, including insurance fraud, and we have the knowledge and qualifications to represent you effectively and efficiently.
Related Page:
