The Operation High End inquiry lasted for four years and has led to a number of arrests.
A series of arrests have now been made as a result of the conclusion of the Operation High End four year investigation into a multimillion dollar auto insurance scam ring that was uncovered in California.
The probe was conducted throughout the Los Angeles area and there have already been 12 arrests.
At the time of the writing of this article, a dozen people had already been arrested for their alleged parts in this auto insurance fraud scheme, but it is expected that more arrests will be made before all is said and done. The targets of the scam were said to be both dealers and insurers, all located within the L.A. area.
The auto insurance fraud probe came to a close on Friday, bringing the first arrests in connection to the scam.
According to the California Department of Insurance, there have been charges that have also been laid against 17 people in Los Angeles, as well as another one in Fresno. That agency explained that the scam involved the use of false bank accounts and fake credit cards in order to purchase 21 different high end vehicles. These included cars by automakers such as Audi, Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes. The vehicles were purchased from 18 dealerships located in L.A.
The Department of Insurance also explained that the scam went on from there. Those involved purchased insurance policies for those vehicles, and then crashed them. They used staged accidents that typically involved multiple vehicles which were owned by other members of this fraud ring. Once the cars had been totaled, the scammers made claims on their policies and then defaulted on the loans. Among the vehicles that were purchased, three had already been exported out of the United States.
The first dozen auto insurance scammers have been taken into custody after having been arrested early in the morning. There are two more that have been charged and who are arranging for their surrender, while the remaining four have yet to be found but are being sought out. This, according to one of the agency’s spokespeople. Two of the people who were arrested, said the spokesperson, were a married team.