SACRAMENTO -  On Tuesday, July 8, 2014, six Sacramento area men and women pleaded no contest to felony charges of insurance fraud and personal identification theft for their roles in submitting approximately 1,000 false auto insurance claims totaling nearly $100,000 for windshield chip repair.

According to the California Department of Insurance (CDI), the group submitted fraudulent claims during a 12-month period beginning in May 2011.  They  were initially part of  a legitimate auto glass repair business, but according to the investigation, they  began keeping their customers' policy information and later  filed additional fraudulent claims on those policies without the policyholders' knowledge or permission.

"This is stealing from insurance companies and stealing the identities of innocent individuals," said Alan Barcelona, president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association  (CSLEA).  CSLEA represents CDI investigators and nearly 7,000 other law enforcement, public safety and consumer protection professionals who work for the State of California.  "CDI has investigators statewide who work on a large number of cases.  Despite that workload, their track record is impressive.  Their investigations lead to arrests when warranted, convictions and prison time."

The six defendants are:

The six face a maximum sentence of up to three years in state prison.  Sentencing is scheduled for August 6, 2014.