Another case has arisen where a person's financial concerns about repairing their vehicle caused them to submit a false insurance report which resulted in criminal prosecution. On November 13, 2009, Ronald Lewis Dixon, of Oxnard, pleaded guilty in Ventura County Superior Court to one count of felony auto insurance fraud arising out of a 2007 auto accident.
The facts underlying the plea are as follows. On November 25, 2007, at 1:20 a.m., an Oxnard Police officer was dispatched to a traffic collision at the intersection of Ventura Boulevard and Alvarado Street. The officer found a 2006 Nissan truck crashed into a retaining wall. The truck was abandoned but locked. The officer noticed there was no evidence of forced entry or damage to the ignition lock. The officer checked the license plate and learned the vehicle was registered to Mr. Dixon , who lived less than half a block from the collision scene.
The officer went to Mr. Dixon 's residence. When Mr. Dixon opened the door, the officer noted that Mr. Dixon was dressed as if he just returned from a night out and his breath smelled of alcohol. Mr. Dixon would not admit he was driving his truck, fearing he would be arrested for DUI.
Two days later Mr. Dixon contacted his insurance company, Infinity Insurance, and reported someone stole his truck and crashed it. The following day, Mr. Dixon went to the Oxnard Police Department and tried to file a stolen vehicle report. After giving his account of how his truck was “stolen, but later found,” the Oxnard Police Department refused to take the report.
Infinity Insurance referred the case to the California Department of Insurance, Fraud Division. Fraud detectives eventually arrested Dixon for insurance fraud. Once arrested, Mr. Dixon admitted he crashed his truck and lied because he thought the insurance company would not repair his truck if it discovered he had been drinking prior to the accident.
Mr. Dixon will be sentenced on January 5, 2010, at 1:30 p.m., in courtroom 13 of the Ventura County Superior Court. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in state prison and a $50,000 fine. When Mr. Dixon pleaded guilty he turned over a cashier's check for $3,749 (the amount of restitution due to the victim in the case, Infinity Insurance).
Posted by Tracy Green. Any questions or comments should be directed to: tgreen@greenassoc.com. Tracy Green is a principal at Green and Associates in Los Angeles, California. They focus their practice on the representation of professionals, individuals and businesses in civil, business, administrative and criminal proceedings. They have developed an expertise in insurance fraud cases over the past 20 years. The firm website is http://www.greenassoc.com/
