Las Vegas man gets prison for role in car insurance schemes
A Las Vegas man was sentenced to federal prison Tuesday for his role in a scheme to defraud insurance companies through staged car crashes.
Matthew David Carter, 36, must serve a year and a day behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, a U.S. District Judge in Washington state ordered.
Carter pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and four counts of mail fraud. Chief United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice also ordered Carter to pay restitution in the amount of $50,500 and forfeiture of $50,500.
Prosecutors said that between June 2015 and November 2017 Carter was involved in two phony automobile accidents in Las Vegas that defrauded insurance companies out of $568,744. Carter played an “injured victim” in one phony accident and allowed his BMW to be used as the “at fault” vehicle in the other, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington wrote in a news release.
Prosecutors said in the release that car insurance fraud “affects every driver, as fraud causes insurance rates to increase. It also distracts police and medical personnel from responding to legitimate distress calls.”
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.
