“It just doesn’t make sense to attempt to scam your insurance company when there are investigators employed to specifically investigate insurance fraud.  Some cases are fairly simple, others more complex and time consuming, but California Department of Insurance investigators and detectives are up to the task.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

VENTURA– On June 28, 2023, Jennifer Itzel Perez Velazquez, 22, and Jesus Manuel Godinez Valadez, 29, both of Oxnard, pled no contest to one count of insurance fraud and were found guilty by the court.

Velazquez was involved in a traffic collision in Oxnard on September 11, 2022. The following day, she reported the collision to State Farm. The insurance company subsequently issued a check to Velazquez for vehicle repairs. On October 24, 2022, Velasquez presented a $589.95 invoice to State Farm claiming it was issued by Automax for a car rental. State Farm investigators determined the invoice was fraudulent and Velazquez had not incurred a rental car cost due to the accident.

An investigation by State Farm and the California Department of Insurance revealed Velazquez’s boyfriend, Jesus Manuel Godinez Valadez, produced the fraudulent invoice and gave it to Velazquez to present to State Farm for a fraudulent reimbursement of rental car costs.

Velazquez and Valadez are scheduled to be sentenced on August 10, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court. Automobile insurance fraud is punishable by up to five years in county jail and a fine up to $50,000, or double the amount of fraud, whichever is greater.