Automobile Insurance Fraud is aggressively prosecuted by the San Diego District Attorney. The Auto Insurance Fraud Unit of the San Diego District Attorney’s Office investigates and prosecutes VIN switches, automobile thefts that involve staged accidents, “chop shops,” auto thefts, and fraudulently billing insurance companies. Felony Convictions for Auto Insurance Fraud can result in up to five years in prison and $50,000 in fines. At Kern Law, APC, we have aggressively defended clients accused of Auto Insurance Fraud for almost two decades.
Intent to Defraud:
Automobile Insurance Fraud requires an intent to defraud. Intent to Defraud means that someone intends to deceive another person either to cause a loss of money, goods, services, or something else of value, or to cause damage to a legal, financial, or property right. It is not necessary that anyone actually be defrauded or actually suffer a financial, legal, or property loss.
Defenses:
An experienced criminal defense attorney who handles Automobile Insurance Fraud cases is critically important to a successful defense. There may be many defenses applicable to your case. For example, there may be Constitutional grounds under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to challenge unlawfully seized property and statements that violated your Miranda Rights. Maybe there was no intent to defraud – the statements or actions taken were made by mistake or accident. There may be an identification issue, and the person charged is not the person who committed the fraud. There may be many more defenses that are specific to your case.
Automobile Insurance Fraud, PC 550(a) is a very serious allegation and requires an experienced criminal defense attorney. If you are under investigation or have been arrested or charged with Automobile Insurance Fraud, contact Kern Law, APC today. We have almost 20 years of successfully defending clients, and we offer free consultations.