Southern California Couple Who Charged Police with Racism Nabbed for Fraud

A Southern California couple who had filed an official complaint accusing police officers of racism has been arrested for insurance fraud and filing a false police report.

Lamont Goodwin, 33, and Sylvia Camarillo, 31, were arrested in mid-April by California Department of Insurance detectives on multiple felony charges of insurance fraud after allegedly submitting a fraudulent claim and filing a false police report in an attempt to bilk their insurer out of $18,000 for uncovered damages.

In May 2016, Goodwin was driving and involved in an auto accident, according to a report from the Tustin Police Department. Following the accident, Goodwin and his domestic partner, Camarillo, allegedly falsely reported that Camarillo was the person driving the vehicle and Goodwin was a passenger.

Based on the police report, the insurer denied the claim because Goodwin was an excluded driver on the policy, so the accident was not covered. Before receiving the police report, the carrier paid $18,000 to the credit union that held a lien on the totaled vehicle.

After the claim was denied, Camarillo and Goodwin filed a complaint with the Tustin Police Department accusing the responding officers of racism and lying on the police report. An internal affairs investigation was initiated by Tustin Police Department.

Suspecting fraud, the insurance company and the Tustin Police Department reached out to CDI, which launched a fraud investigation that determined Goodwin was the driver and Camarillo was not in the car at all. Both Goodwin and Camarillo allegedly conspired to file a fraudulent claim so the insurance company would pay for damages that were not covered under the conditions of the policy. The investigation also uncovered that the pair filed a false police report accusing the Tustin police officers of lying on the original traffic report.

Goodwin and Camarillo were booked into the Orange County Jail. Bail was set at $30,000 for Goodwin and $30,000 for Camarillo. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.