It Takes Two to Crash This Lexus

Rory G. Graham, formerly of Boulder City, Nevada, pled guilty Feb. 23 to three felony counts of insurance fraud. The 37-year-old man allegedly bilked auto insurance companies out of $83,324 by filing false claims in the wreck of a Lexus. Graham’s sentencing is set for April 19.

Graham, who faces up to 12 years in prison and fines up to $15,000, will make restitution to the insurance companies as part of a plea bargain.

According to Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, the state has filed a civil forfeiture action against one of Graham’s bank accounts, which contains $154,000.

Using false ownership documents and proof of identification, Graham and Daniel J. Erickson allegedly took out separate insurance policies with various companies on a 1993 Lexus. Then each claimed they crashed the Lexus into a guardrail trying to avoid a coyote on U.S. 93. The two men were paid more than $83,000. According to the Attorney General’s office, Graham and Erickson filed more than 15 claims in Nevada and California seeking more than $120,000.

Graham was arrested last year in Wisconsin on phony credit card charges. Erickson has been arrested in Southern California, and remains in custody.