Florida Man Jailed on Insurance Fraud After ‘Theft’ of Motorcycle

Cameras are everywhere these days, a Florida man learned after authorities say he faked the theft of a pricey motorcycle in order to gain an insurance payout.

Jeffrey Stephens, 27, was arrested Friday on fraud charges, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office reported. Stephens, of Deltona, Florida, near Orlando, initially told authorities that his 2020 Harley Davidson motorcycle was stolen after he left it outside a bar Sept. 25 and took an Uber ride home. He filed a $30,000 insurance claim on the bike.

Detectives said that Stephens had parked the Harley as far as possible from the bar’s security cameras, but had inadvertently left it in view of a surveillance camera at a nearby establishment. The camera footage caught Stephens outside the establishment, looking at the bike, when someone pulled up in a vehicle, then drove off on the Harley.

Detectives then identified and interviewed the driver, the sheriff said in a news release. The man admitted that Stephens had planned the incident, and phone records show that the two were in frequent contact through text messages at the time of the “theft,” the sheriff said.

The insurance company has denied the claim. Stephens was being held in the Volusia County jail last weekend on $20,500 bond.