The former MLB pitcher has accepted a plea deal in California in order to keep himself out of prison.
Recently, Live Insurance News reported on the case of Ted Lilly, who was charged with insurance fraud and who was facing jail time as a part of his sentence for defrauding insurers.
This case in California has taken a new turn, now that the former MLB player has accepted a plea deal.
Although Lilly did not actually appear in the California court, the attorney representing him entered a no contest plea to a count of insurance fraud (misdemeanor), which was linked to Lilly’s damaged RV. According to reports, this has allowed Lilly to avoid going to jail. Instead, he will serve 2 years of informal probation, he will pay a fine of $2,500, and he will be required to perform 250 hours of local community service.
The insurance fraud was conducted against Progressive, in order to claim damage on an RV without adequate coverage.
A Department of Insurance investigation determined that Ted Lilly had experienced damage to his recreational vehicle (RV), following a crash. On March 19, 2014, he had obtained an estimate from a body shop, which stated that the damage would cost about $4,600 to repair.
On March 24, the two-time All Star Major League Baseball pitcher purchased an insurance policy from Progressive. According to a spokesperson from the Department of Insurance, Nancy Kincaid, Lilly then made a claim for the damage on March 28.
Kincaid explained that “What a lot of people may not realize is that body shops often enter estimates into a database that insurance companies can check to verify claims.” She also added that “They can see what the damage was and whether a false claim may have been filed.”
Initially, Lilly had been facing three different charges associated with this insurance fraud. The first was for filing a false claim, the second was for filing a false statement linked with this claim, and the third was in hiding a material fact that was linked with the claim. His maximum jail time could have been five years, if he had been convicted on all of those charges. However, his charge was reduced in exchange for his plea, and the last two charges were dismissed.