Northern California Sting Brings Insurance Fraud Charges in Auto Body Repair Bust

An operation by a crime task force in Northern California targeting auto body repair facilities resulted in eight felony counts of insurance fraud against four individuals

The California Department of Insurance, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the National Insurance Crime Bureau conducted an undercover sting operation targeting auto body repair facilities across Contra Costa County.

The operation resulted in eight felony counts of insurance fraud against four individuals: Estephanie Gonzalez-Marquez, 26, of Pittsburg; Marco Antonio Hernandez Santizo, 49; of San Pablo, Kyle Alan Coburn, 30, of Elk Grove; and Vu Phong Hoang, 33, of Clayton.

One sting operation reportedly uncovered repair shop employees allegedly providing undercover officers with written bogus documentation to give their insurance company to support fraudulent insurance claims. In another sting, body shop personnel coached the undercover officer on telling a phony story to the insurance company, including allegedly telling the undercover officer to lie about when and how the vehicle damage occurred.

Hernandez and Gonzalez-Marquez were indicted by a Grand Jury in December 2019. Both individuals recently appearance in court for the first time. Coburn and Hoang were arrested by Department of Insurance detectives last week.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the cases.