Pair Charged With Staging Accidents
By Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News |
One of them would then stand behind the vehicle and loudly slap its trunk as the driver pulled out, simulating that the car had hit them. The other would pretend to have witnessed the "accident."
Then the "victim" would feign injury, go to the hospital complaining of pain and file an insurance claim against the driver, she said. Evidence shows that the two switched roles, used multiple aliases and were paid more than
"These were not harmless pranksters, but highly organized scam artists who repeatedly preyed on the elderly," Christine-Sen said. "We are concerned that this scheme was widespread and often unreported."
The pair was arraigned Thursday on multiple charges, including making false claims, grand theft and participating in a vehicle collision for a false purpose. Neither entered a plea. Both were in jail Friday.
Thompson is charged with 16 felony counts with his bail set at
The purported scam was unearthed when one of the insurance companies grew suspicious after the "victim" demanded costly X-rays, even though there were no visible signs of injury, Garcia-Sen said. The higher the hospital bill, the more they stood to possibly gain from the insurance company, she said.
Garcia-Sen encouraged anyone who has any information about the defendants to contact investigator
The prosecutor said the scam is "unfortunately fairly common." Anyone who witnesses a similar setup is asked to identify themselves to the driver as a witness or call the police.
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