Insurance scam suspect figured in ‘dubious’ mishap

Serafin Amog Esperancilla, an auto shop employee who was among five people charged for involvement in a car insurance scam, also figured in a “questionable” vehicular accident seven years ago that ended up with him and a businessman being awarded $120,000 in damages.

The case has been dragging in court as Royal Crown Insurance Corp., which smelled something fishy from the start, appealed to the CNMI Supreme Court. The case is still pending in the High Court.

According to court documents, Esperancilla, alias Raffy, got into a vehicular accident while entering the compound of Jen-Marz Auto Shop in As Terlaje in the evening of Jan. 5, 2001.

A police officer stated in his incident report that Esperancilla, the driver of a Mazda pickup truck, had told him that he struck a Subaru four-door sedan parked by the entrance of Jen-Marz.

Esperancilla reportedly told the officer that he was heading down As Terlaje Hill, then stopped and made a left turn to the entrance of Jen-Marz.

As he was making the turn, he noticed that a vehicle heading up the hill behind him was coming too fast so he accelerated to avoid an accident.

Esperancilla explained that as he cleared the highway, he struck the Subaru car that was parked by the entrance of the shop.

The officer said no information was obtained from the Subaru car since that vehicle was parked.

Both vehicles sustained moderate damage to the front.

The owner of Subaru car was Jen-Marz owner Bernardo A. Hiponia. At the time, Esperancilla was Hiponia’s employee.

Esperancilla filed an insurance claim against Royal Crown on Jan. 25, 2001. The following day, Hiponia, also filed the same claim against Royal Crown.

The lowest damage estimate for Hiponia’s car was $2,841.76, made by Jen-Marz, which also estimated the damage to Esperancilla’s vehicle at $3,483.65.

Royal Crown requested an independent estimate from another auto shop, which estimated the damage to Hiponia’s and Esperancilla’s cars at $1,514 and $2,009 respectively. The amount covered by the insurance policy was $2,150 or $500 less each.

Royal Crown rejected the insurance claim after their own investigation uncovered some irregularities in the accident.

Royal Crown discovered, among other things, that the traffic crash report and the claimants’ written statement do not jive; the damaged portions to both vehicles do not support a head-on collision; and the questionable impact of damage to vehicles on a secondary road with a zero speed.

The denial prompted Esperancilla and Hiponia to sue Royal Crown.

In March 2005, a Superior Court jury found Royal Crown liable to pay over $120,000 in damages to Esperancilla and Hiponia. The jurors awarded the two $85,000 in punitive damages, $25,000 for an unfair settlement, plus other amounts for various violations.

Then Superior Court associate judge Juan T. Lizama later reduced the award from $120,000 to $106,000.

The bulk of the monetary award goes to the lawyers for attorneys’ fees in the amount $57,900.18. Lawyers Eric D. Bozman and David Banes represented them in the case.

Royal Crown’s investigation showed that Hiponia had alleged that he was on the way out of the compound when he remembered that he forgot something from the house.

He allegedly parked his car almost in the middle of the roadway and with the engine running and returned to his house. When Hiponia returned to his car, it was already damaged by Esperancilla’s car.

Royal Crown said Hiponia could not understand why Esperancilla was going to the shop when it was already closed.

Esperancilla, on the other hand, stated in the accident report he was in a hurry to go back to the shop when he hit Hiponia’s parked car. He allegedly tried to avoid an incoming car but, in doing so, hit the parked car.

Ironically, Royal Crown said, Esperancilla could not identify the car he was trying to avoid.

The insurance firm noted that if Esperancilla hit Hiponia’s car accidentally, the damage to Hiponia’s car should have been on the left front portion and not on the right front side.

Attorney General’s Office recently charged Esperancilla, Sgt. Hillary Tagabuel, and Yu Jai Feng “Lili” Cepeda, with conspiracy to commit theft by deception. In addition, Esperancilla and Cepeda were charged with theft by deception. Tagabuel, Esperancilla, and Cepeda pleaded not guilty.

In a separate case, the AGO charged Xi Mao Zheng, alias Amao, 42, and Yuan Fu Li, 28, both of Shun Fa Auto Shop, for theft, theft by deception, and conspiracy.

Superior Court associate judge David Wiseman yesterday dismissed the case against Li after the AGO moved to drop the charges against him.

Wiseman, however, found probable cause to warrant the filing of charges against Zheng.

Detective Patrick Earl Maanao stated in his report that the arrests of Zheng and Li were made after Esperancilla confessed to police his participation in the scam and implicated the two defendants.

Maanao said Sgt. Tagabuel admitted forging a total of 41 traffic crash reports.

Maanao said that Tagabuel had stated that most of the TCRs he prepared last year was for his co-defendant Cepeda and that he started dealing with Esperancilla only in January.