Borough man accused of insurance fraud, insuring cousin’s vehicle to escape NYC rates
SHENANDOAH – A Shenandoah man is facing insurance fraud for insuring his cousin’s vehicle in the borough to avoid steeper New York City insurance costs.
Special Agent Justin Uczynski of the Attorney General’s Office filed insurance fraud and theft charges Monday against Luis Sanchez, 30, of 219 East Centre Street.
According to Uczynski’s criminal complaint, filed in Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker’s Shenandoah courtroom, the matter was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by Progressive Insurance Special Investigator Pat Danz.
Danz reported that Sanchez purchased an auto insurance policy for a 2020 Honda Accord, listed at 16 East Centre Street, on Sept. 27, 2021, and agreed that the vehicle would be kept at that location more than 50% of the time.
On Feb. 21, 2022, Sanchez filed a claim, reporting that the vehicle was struck when it was parked at Jackson Avenue and West Chester Avenue in The Bronx borough of New York City. Sanchez said he was visiting his cousin, George Guzman, at the time.
The vehicle had damage to the driver side door, driver side fender, hood, front bumper, and headlights, Sanchez told Progressive.
Progressive’s case file, provided to investigators, additionally indicated that the vehicle was previously owned by Guzman and had a Geico insurance policy in New York until March 2021. PennDOT records also said the vehicle’s title was transferred from New York, where it was titled to Guzman, to Sanchez in Pennsylvania.
In an recorded phone interview with Progressive Claims Representative Brittany Williams, Sanchez confirmed he was living at 16 East Centre Street in Shenandoah and had lived there for three years.
In a follow-up phone call, Sanchez said he did not see the accident, but Guzman did did. Sanchez added that he purchased the insurance policy “because a Pennsylvania policy is cheaper than a New York policy.”
The average annual cost of minimum coverage in Pennsylvania is $506, versus $1,016 in New York, according to Forbes.
Guzman additionally told Progressive that he had the vehicle the majority of the time and that Sanchez uses the vehicle when he is in New York.
Uczynski interviewed Sanchez on Jan. 10 and confirmed that while Sanchez owned the vehicle, Guzman drove it “the entire time” and that “he took out the Progressive auto insurance policy to help out his cousin.”
Sanchez was arraigned Monday and is free on $10,000 unsecured bail.
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