Spokane, WA –Alexander Arceo, age 32, of South El Monte, California, was sentenced on September 26 after having pleaded guilty on June 17, 2019, to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of mail fraud.
Arceo was sentenced to a 14-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison. And he was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $40,000 and forfeiture of $40,000.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings, between February 2016, and September 2016, Arceo was involved in a staged automobile accident in Rescue, California, and a staged stair fall accident in Las Vegas, Nevada, that defrauded two insurance companies out of $412,015.
In the phony automobile accident, Arceo falsely claimed that he suffered serious bodily injuries, including loss of consciousness, as a result of the accident and obtained medical treatment over an eighty-four day period after the accident.
In the phony stair fall accident, a co-conspirator used Arceo’s name when he falsely claimed to an insurance company that he suffered head and other injuries and needed medical treatment over a five-month period. When the defrauded insurance company issued settlement checks for bodily injury in Arceo’s name, he endorsed the checks thereby enabling co-conspirators to get the fraudulent proceeds.
“Staged accident automobile insurance fraud is not a victimless crime. It affects every driver, as fraud causes insurance rates to increase,” said William D. Hyslop, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. “It also distracts police and medical personnel from responding to legitimate distress calls.”
