SANTA ANA, CA - The Orange County District Attorney's Office (OCDA) in California said it has charged 53 defendants following a five-month undercover sting targeting auto body repair facilities engaging in insurance fraud. 

Between January and May of this year, the OCDA conducted 152 undercover operations throughout Orange County. The targets for this operation were identified through the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), which provided the OCDA with a list of 141 auto body repair facilities that have had consumer complaints within the past three years. The additional targets were identified through referrals by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and independent auto repair facilities that were not registered with the BAR. 

Investigators arrested the defendants on felony insurance fraud charges on June 2 and June 3. The defendants have each been charged with one felony count of insurance fraud and face maximum sentences of five years in state prison if convicted. 

For the investigation, the OCDA obtained a 2001 Ford Expedition that had been totaled by an insurance company after sustaining rear-end damage in a collision. The rear bumper was completely missing and the rear frame rails were bent. After the primary collision, the Ford was backed into a telephone pole, causing an indentation in the rear hatch. 

An undercover OCDA investigator went to auto body repair facilities with the Ford and asked for an estimate to repair the damage. The undercover investigator explained that he had purchased the vehicle without a bumper. Upon inspection, the estimators would inform the undercover investigator that the vehicle also had frame damage. The investigator would ask if both the bumper and frame damage could be repaired under the same insurance claim, even though the bumper was missing at the time of purchase. 

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The majority of the estimators complied with the law, OCDA said, and stated that the damages would require separate insurance claims and refused to file a claim, advising the undercover investigator that such an action would be insurance fraud. The defendants charged with insurance fraud are accused of agreeing to include the damages under the same insurance estimate. 

The OCDA also obtained a 1999 Mercedes Benz E430 that had been totaled by an insurance company after sustaining rear-end damage in a collision. The left-side bumper was not attached and was hanging slightly from the vehicle. The Mercedes also had a large dent in the front fender on the passenger side. An undercover OCDA investigator went to auto body repair facilities with the Mercedes and asked for an estimate to repair the damage. 

In some cases, the undercover investigator explained that the rear-end damage had been caused in a collision and asked if the front fender damage, which was unrelated to the collision, could be repaired at the same time under the same insurance estimate. The majority of the estimators complied with the law and stated that the damages would require separate insurance claims, OCDA said. The defendants charged with insurance fraud are accused of agreeing to include both the front and rear damage on the same insurance estimate or to increase the estimate from the rear-end collision to cover the extra cost of repairing the front fender. 

In other cases, the undercover investigator explained that he had purchased the Mercedes at auction with pre-existing front and rear-end damage. The undercover investigator asked to repair the pre-existing damage by filing a claim under a new insurance policy taken out after the purchase of the vehicle. Insurance claims cannot be filed under new insurance policies for damage sustained to a vehicle prior to the issuance of the policy. 

The investigator asked for an estimate to have all damage repaired to submit to his insurance company, and most estimators refused, advising that filing such a claim is insurance fraud, OCDA said. The defendants charged with insurance fraud are accused of agreeing to provide an estimate with the knowledge that the estimate would be used to commit insurance fraud. 

The OCDA was assisted in the investigation by the BAR, California Highway Patrol, Department of Insurance, NICB, Automobile Club of Southern California, Geico Insurance, Hartford Insurance, Infinity Insurance, Mendota Insurance, Mercury Insurance, and Progressive Insurance Companies. 

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This and other automobile insurance fraud investigations by the OCDA are ongoing. Deputy District Attorneys Jan Christie, Jimmie Harris and Demetra Lewis of the Insurance Fraud Unit are prosecuting these cases. 

Here is a list of the defendants and where they worked:

Name
(in alphabetical order)

Business

Business Address

Sheridon John Bailey

Power Collision Center

23532 Commerce Center, Laguna Hills

Stephen Raymond Baker

A J Auto Body

1020 N. Harbor Blvd. #C, Garden Grove

Edward Arutan Bilezikchian

OC Collision Center

7100 Hazard Ave., Westminster

James Fay Burroughs

Fix It Auto

7522 Westminster Ave., Westminster

Ronald Dean Campbell

Orange Coast Auto Body

10810 Talbert Blvd., Fountain Valley

Thomas William Carmer

Specialized Coach Works

33207 Paseo Cerveza, San Juan Capistrano

Yoon Kyu Choi

Son’s Auto Body

1808 Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton

Michele Anne Conlon

Euro American Collision Center

20591 Pascal Way, Lake Forest

Angelea Danciu

G D Auto Collision

2085 Placentia Ave., Costa Mesa

Fernando Gonzalez Delgado

Fernando’s Auto Body

3500 Westminster Ave. #K, Santa Ana

James Michael Desmond

A B Auto Body

1607 E. Edinger Ave., Santa Ana

Dennis Dee Eagleton

Euro America Collision Center

1343 Logan St., Costa Mesa

Oscar Alvarado Escalera, Jr.

Kraemer Auto Collision

1361 N. Kraemer Ave., Anaheim

Javier Gutierrez Espino

C N Auto Body

4609 W. 1st St., Santa Ana

Richard Todd Evans

HB Body Works

18108 Redondo Cir., Huntington Beach

Art Flores

Century Auto Body And Collision

14042 Goldenwest St., Westminster

Tateoz Gasparyan

Southern Auto Body

118 E. 16th St., Costa Mesa

Felipe Gutierrez Gomez

Easy Auto Body

1646 W. Lincoln Blvd., Anaheim

Robert Charles Gomez

Southern Auto Body

118 E. 16th St., Costa Mesa

Efren Francisco Gonzalez, Jr.

Sterling Auto Body Center

750 Monroe Way, Placentia

Sergio Rene Gonzalez

Superior Collision Center

1646 Superior Ave., Costa Mesa

Hollian Houston Hannah

American Auto Center

12794 Nutwood St., Garden Grove

William Ray Harris

Snyder Auto Collision

11050 Western Ave., Stanton

John Ngoc Hoang

Orange County Auto Body Works

11711 Westminster Ave., Garden Grove

Ryan Alan Kissinger

Anaheim Hills Auto Collision

3627 E. Miraloma Ave., Anaheim

Brent David Lanksbury

Hi Tech

1399 Logan St., Costa Mesa

Jose Luis Marquez

Body Masters

2431 S. Broadway Ave., Santa Ana

Angel Martin

Auto Collision Solution

23251 Antonio Pkwy., Rancho Santa Margarita

Mark Andrew McNeil

Autobody USA

26361 Via De Anza, San Juan Capistrano

Freddy Cardona Morales

Specialty Collision Center

330 Paularino Ave., Costa Mesa

Dean Nguyen

Hi Tech Auto Collision

2541 W. La Palma Ave., Anaheim

Minh Anh Nguyen

#1 Auto Body And Repair

2402 W. 17th St., Santa Ana

Sarkis Michael Ohanian

Sarkis Auto Body

15142 Beach Blvd., Westminster

Nabor Olivera

Olivera Auto Body

711 S. Raymond Ave., Fullerton

Miguel Ortiz

MOB Works

975 N. Batavia St., Orange

Ramanlal Patel

A To Z Auto Body

5042 Lincoln Ave., Cypress

Sergio Escalante Perez

USA Auto Collision

471 W. Imperial Hwy., La Habra

Justin Micheal Picon

Solesbee Auto Craft

4051 2nd St., Yorba Linda

Ronald Joseph Pierce

Big Ron Body and Paint

12781 Nelson St., Garden Grove

David Brian Prukop

Prukops Auto Body And Paint

15362 Electronic Ln., Huntington Beach

Erik Ruben Reyna

Adonai Auto Body

3122 Westminster Ave., Santa Ana

Mike Vargas Rocha

Placentia Auto Body

233 Santa Fe Ave., Placentia

Tomas Moreno Rodriguez

Moreno Auto Body

1125 Ash Ave., Fullerton

Philip David Sanchez

Autobahn Autobody

1107 Baker St., Costa Mesa

David Joseph Schmulbach

McLaren Unibody

20781 Canada Rd., Lake Forest

Lawrence Scrivani

Laguna Niguel Auto Collision

27622 Camino Capistrano #D, Laguna Niguel

David Dean Snavely

OC Auto Collision

28002 Forbes Rd., Laguna Niguel

Michael Tran

Salem Auto Body

15126 Weststate St., Westminster

Petch Vatcharasumphun

Ming Auto Body

13822 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove

Javier Velasco

J V Auto Body And Paint

3721 W. McFadden Ave., Santa Ana

Paula Christina Villalobos

Sterling Collision Center

1111 Bell Ave., Tustin

Edgar Villegas

Choice Of Color Auto Paint

13871 West St., Garden Grove

Nasr Nazmy Youssef

Deal Time Auto Body

1107 E. Elm Ave. #F, Fullerton

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