Office Address:
Law Office of David P. Shapiro
3500 5th Avenue
Suite 304
San Diego, CA 92103
619-295-3555
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Hi Stefano Molea here, San Diego criminal attorney and partner at Law Office of David P. Shapiro, where we help good people regain control of their future when charged with a crime. Did you know that making a false claim to an auto insurance company is a felony? Not only is it a felony, but it carries potential prison sentence of two, three or five years. That's more than some strike felonies or felonies that involve violence. How can that be? Well, I'll just say that in my opinion, big insurance companies have lots of money to pay for legislative lobby, but I digress.

Under penal code section 550(a)(4), submitting a claim and making materially false statements in order to obtain money for some type of loss is a felony. That's the case even if no money is ever paid out by the insurance company. Under penal code section 550(b)(2), one can be charged for another felony for every false statement made in support of that false claim. Well, this felony also carries a potential of two, three or five years in prison. It's a wobbler and can be reduced to a misdemeanor.

A common fact pattern is that someone gets into an accident while they are uninsured. They then go out and get insurance. And shortly thereafter, they call the insurance company and lie about when the accident actually happened, obviously in a way to try to get the insurance company to pay for the damage. That's usually a minimum of two felonies charged. Fortunately, in many cases, knowing how to leverage the right facts and familiarity with the local auto fraud division of the prosecutor's office and their programs can be very helpful in getting a great outcome for a client.

Hope that was helpful. If you have any questions, give me a call, Stefano Molea, San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer, (619) 295-3555.

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