3 Charged In Fake Car Accident Scam
CHICAGO (CBS/WBBM) -- The federal government has filed fraud complaints against three men for an alleged fake car accident scam.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Bernie Tafoya reports, federal prosecutors accuse the three men of stealing money from the Geico insurance company by staging accidents using cars from a Northwest Side salvage yard.
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The criminal complaint against the men alleges that in 2003 and 2004, AAAA Auto Care Inc. owner Jan Wiktorczyk ordered employees of the auto salvage shop at 4919 W. Diversey Ave. to fake accidents with junk vehicles.
Geico insurance claims adjuster Alexis Santana provided inflated accident insurance appraisals for staged accidents Wiktorczyk organized for bribes, according to the complaint. Santana issued checks to Wikorczyk and others in inflated amounts for the car care company owner and others who were not injured in the staged accident.
The complaint said that on Dec. 9, 2003, Santana and Adam Wiktorczyk misappropriated money to Wieslaw Tomasik. Adam Wiktorczyk and Tomasik staged an accident and Santana issued a check to Tomasik for $500 for alleged bodily injuries.
On Feb. 12, 2004, Stanislaw Szczerbinski staged an accident with an unidentified person and Santana issued a check to him for $500 for alleged bodily injuries, the complaint said.
On March 7, 2004, Tomasz Klepka staged an accident with an unidentified person Santana issued a check for $300 for alleged injuries.
The three-count complaint lists Adam Wiktorczyk, Klepka and Szczerbinski as defendants.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
