(Boise) – Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has announced a Canyon County man was sentenced Thursday, May 30, for Insurance Fraud.
23-year-old Ernesto Guzman, of Nampa, pleaded guilty in January, 2019.
Judge Juneal Kerrick withheld judgment and placed Guzman on two years of supervised probation. The court also ordered the defendant to pay $721 in restitution to the Department of Insurance for investigative costs, as well as court costs. Guzman was given 90 days of discretionary jail time to be utilized by his probation officer. Finally, Judge Kerrick ordered Guzman to complete 50 hours of community service.
An investigation revealed Guzman was involved in a collision in March 2017. His vehicle was uninsured but he filed a claim with the owner of the other vehicle. The claim was denied as the insurance company found no one at fault. Two weeks after the collision, Guzman then obtained insurance through Progressive. He soon filed a claim asserting he had run into a propane tank at his grandparents’ home. However, the damage he was claiming was actually from the earlier March collision. The claim was denied and the policy canceled.
Deputy Attorney General Nicole Schafer in the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case. The Idaho Department of Insurance investigated.
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