Martinez Man 1 Of 7 Indicted In Insurance Fraud Scheme

Authorities indicted five people from the Bay Area and two people from Washington on suspicion of conspiring to defraud insurance companies out of at least $175,000, officials from the state’s Department of Insurance said Wednesday.

Investigators first received a notification from an insurance company representative in Nov. 2013 that they suspected fraud from a claimant, insurance department spokeswoman Nancy Kincaid said. Over the next roughly year and a half, Kincaid said investigators unraveled an interstate web of fraudulent activity dating back to 2011 that ultimately included at least seven people and an auto body shop.

The suspects submitted more than 70 fraudulent claims to multiple insurance companies for damage to vehicles that had occurred prior to the vehicle being insured, according to department officials, making the average claim roughly $2,500. Authorities said 50-year-old Pittsburg resident Jose Guadalupe Ramos, owner of Mirage Auto Craft, would inspect the vehicles and was involved in the scheme. Typically, Kincaid said the repairs are never completed on the cars and the schemers pocket the money instead.

In addition to Ramos, authorities arrested 32-year-old Vallejo resident Ismael Chavez, 36-year-old Hayward resident Juan Carlos Chavez, 37-year-old Martinez resident Jose Luis Ramos-Mercado, 29-year-old Oakland resident Maria Ortiz, 27-year-old Joel Palestino and 39-year-old Carmen Vazquez, who are both from Everett, Washington.

If convicted, the suspects will face five to 35 years in state prison. Palestino and Vazquez are being extradited from Washington to face charges in California, according to department officials.

The case is being prosecuted by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.

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