Man Surrenders on Felony Charges

On Feb. 26, Steve Rivera, of Clovis, California, self-surrendered to authorities at the Fresno county jail on a warrant for three felonies: insurance fraud, making material misrepresentations to representatives of his insurer, Esurance, and bringing another person, a female acquaintance, into the scheme.

Rivera could face up to five years in state prison and/or a maximum fine of $50,000 if he is convicted.

Evidence reportedly uncovered during investigations by Esurance and CDI revealed that Rivera was not insured at the time of his collision. On July 25, 2004, Rivera’s vehicle struck another vehicle between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Rivera’s auto insurance policy had reportedly expired due to non-payment of premium fees, so he purchased an Esurance auto insurance policy online with his credit card at 6:47 p.m. that evening. The next morning, Rivera called Esurance’s Loss Department to file his claim, stating that the collision occurred at 7:00 p.m. on July 25, 2004. He also identified a witness to the collision and stated that he didn’t know her. In reality, the alleged witness did not see or hear the collision and was reportedly romantically involved with Rivera. He reportedly repeated this story to two Esurance representatives.

Esurance had paid out $1,217 on Rivera’s claim, which totaled $12,265, before realizing it may be a case of online fraud.

CDI worked closely with Esurance Property and Casualty’s Special Investigation Unit in the case.