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Two more suspects in insurance scam fall
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Posted on Jun 23 2008
Police arrested on Saturday two more men who were allegedly involved in the car insurance scam.
Xi Mao Zheng, alias Amao, 42, and Yuan Fu Li, 28, both of Shun Fa Auto Shop, were arrested in Koblerville for theft, theft by deception, and conspiracy.
In yesterday’s hearing, Superior Court associate judge Kenneth Govendo ordered that the bail shall remain at $50,000 each for the two’s temporary release—as the court had previously imposed.
Govendo set the preliminary hearing for June 30.
Detective Patrick Earl Maanao stated in his report that the arrest of Zheng and Li was made after Serafin Esperancilla, who was earlier arrested, confessed to police his participation in the scam, implicating the two defendants.
Maanao said that Sgt. Hillary Tagabuel, who was also charged in the scam earlier, admitted forging a total of 41 traffic crash reports.
Maanao said that, according to Tagabuel, most of the TCRs he prepared last year was for his co-defendant, Yu Jai Feng “Lili” Cepeda and that he started dealing with Esperancilla only in January.
The detective said that interviews with the drivers or owners of some of the vehicles mentioned in the forged TCRs showed that they were unaware that their vehicles were involved in “accidents.”
Based on the testimony of some drivers or owners of the vehicles, the investigators learned that defendants Zheng and Li of Shun Fa Auto Shop in Koblerville were using their vehicles in the fake accident claims.
In this scam, AON Insurance paid the auto shop for the repair of the vehicles.
Police earlier disclosed that three insurance companies, including Century Insurance, are victims in this scam.
Last week, the Attorney General’s Office charged Sgt. Tagabuel, Mrs. Cepeda, and Esperancilla for their involvement in the scam. Tagabuel, Esperancilla, and Cepeda pleaded not guilty.
Maanao said that under the scheme, the average payout by the insurance companies were anywhere between $8,000 to $25,000 per traffic crash report.
Maanao said Tagabuel was basically being paid for traffic crash report and he was getting anywhere between $150 to $200 per report.
