http://www.toacorn.com/news/2006/0622/C ... y/018.html

June 22, 2006

Illegal immigrant convicted of fraud


Thousand Oaks resident Ricardo Negrette-Diaz, 38, was recently convicted of auto insurance fraud and sentenced to felony probation after serving 60 days in Ventura County Jail and paying restitution. Due to his illegal immigrant status, the felony conviction makes Negrette-Diaz eligible for deportation by the Immigration Customs Enforcement.

Negrette-Diaz was in an auto accident and afterward obtained insurance without disclosing to the insurance company the accident which had occurred earlier in the day. Negrette-Diaz then fraudulently attempted to claim this accident on the policy, repeatedly misstating the time he obtained insurance and time of the accident.

The arrest and conviction culminated a six-month investigation by the district attorney's office into allegations of insurance fraud.

Auto insurance fraud is not a victimless crime, but affects every law-abiding driver in California by causing them to pay higher insurance premiums. Auto insurance fraud costs the insurance industry $2 billion annual and each consumer $250 annual for each vehicle insured in California.