Central California carjacking turns out to be insurance scam, investigators say

Martha Gutierrez DeRomero informed authorities she stopped her Chevy van, en path to a swap meet, amongst groves of fruit timber simply exterior Madera in Central California to regulate her merchandise when the lads appeared.

The 57-year-old had been touring the morning of Could 23 close to the intersection of Avenue 21 and Highway 26, a two-lane rural thoroughfare close to a hearth station, with $60,000 price of health merchandise piled in her car.

On the precise second she pulled over, two masked males with knives approached DeRomero and stole the van, she mentioned.

It was a story of timing — poor for DeRomero and fortuitous for the carjackers — that didn’t fairly sit nicely with Madera County sheriff’s deputies.

DeRomero’s story ultimately crumbled following a number of rounds of interviews with investigators. Authorities decided the carjacking was nothing greater than a hoax with a aim of fast money by means of insurance coverage fraud, sheriff officers mentioned.

DeRomero and her boyfriend Alfredo Ledezma, 57, of Madera have been charged Friday with a felony rely of insurance coverage fraud and a misdemeanor rely of submitting a false police report, based on court docket information.

“What started as a critical and regarding report of a violent carjacking rapidly unraveled below cautious investigation,” Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue mentioned in an announcement. “Trying to use emergency companies for private achieve just isn’t solely unlawful, it diverts assets from those that actually need assistance.”

Madera County Sheriff officers didn’t return cellphone calls from The Instances searching for further remark. DeRomero and Ledezma couldn’t instantly be reached for remark. It’s not clear if they’ve attorneys.

Each are due again in court docket July 8 for arraignment hearings.

When DeRomero known as authorities simply after 8 a.m. on Could 23 to report that she had been carjacked investigators instantly launched into motion.

Deputies circulated an outline of the car and the suspects. Authorities ultimately discovered the white van deserted in close by Merced County and a storage locker that contained merchandise matching the outline of the stolen items.

After one other spherical of questioning detectives decided DeRomero and Ledezma had “staged all the incident” as a part of an insurance coverage fraud scheme, based on the prison grievance filed in Madera County Superior Courtroom.

“I’m happy with our crew for seeing by the deception and holding these accountable accountable,” Pogue mentioned.