California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has announced that Leandra Delgadillo, 32, of Canyon Country, California has been arrested and booked into jail at the San Fernando Police Department on felony charges of fraud and grand theft. She is being held on $20,000 bail and, if convicted, Delgadillo faces as many as two years in prison.
"Committing insurance fraud to make an extra buck is never a smart idea," said Commissioner Poizner. "CDI detectives are quick to catch fraud perpetrators and help put them behind bars, where they belong."
According to California Department of Insurance investigators, from March 2007 through May 2008, Delgadillo, who is not a licensed insurance agent or broker, collected $5,120 in premiums from owners of two used car dealerships in the San Fernando Valley. Delgadillo allegedly provided the dealerships and it customers with bogus certificates of automobile insurance and collected the premiums.
The alleged scam was discovered when a victim attempted to confirm coverage with the insurance agent named on the certificate. That insurance agent informed the victim that he had no coverage. After investigators interviewed the owner of the auto dealership where the victim's money was received, Delgadillo's identity was discovered.
This case was investigated by CDI's Los Angeles Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.