Car Insurance
Buried car in insurance scam
Fri, 20 Jan 2006
A man who buried his own car in order to claim car insurance has been apprehended by police.
Matthew Mueller, who was facing a hefty bill after his rented vehicle blew its engine, decided to bury the car and collect $20,000 from his insurance company by claiming the vehicle had been stolen.
After receiving a tip-off concerning the case, police forces subsequently excavated the vehicle, sentencing Mr Mueller to a year in prison for car insurance fraud, tampering with evidence, falsification and receiving stolen property.
Apologising this week at the Portage County Common Pleas Court in Ohio, Mr Mueller said: "It was stupidity and completely out of character. I broke the law and I tried to conceal it."
Mr Mueller, 35, must now also repay the $20,000 insurance claim as well as reimbursing over $15,000 in costs to the authorities who dug up the vehicle.
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