California Woman Sentenced to 7 Months in Federal Prison for Her Role in Staged Accident Scheme Los Banos, California Woman Sentenced in Federal Court

Spokane – William D. Hyslop, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Stephanie Stock, age 44, of Los Banos, California, was sentenced after having pleaded guilty on April 26, 2019, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Chief United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Stock to a 7-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision after she is released from federal prison. Chief Judge Rice also ordered Stock to pay restitution in the amount of $10,000 and forfeiture of $10,000.

According to information disclosed during court proceedings, Stock was involved in a staged automobile accident in Henderson, Nevada, that defrauded insurance companies out of $257,157. Stock allowed her Toyota 4Runner to be deliberately driven by another individual into a Jaguar XK8 occupied by co-conspirator Sandra Victoria Talento and another individual. Before police arrived, and in furtherance of the scheme, the person who deliberately crashed Stock’s vehicle was driven away from the scene by another individual. Stock then posed as the “at fault” driver to police and the insurance companies.

United States Attorney Hyslop said, “Staged accident automobile insurance fraud is not a victimless crime. It affects every driver, as fraud causes insurance rates to increase. It also distracts police and medical personnel from responding to legitimate distress calls. I commend the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Marshals Service for their outstanding work investigating this case.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington Criminal Healthcare Fraud Investigator, with assistance from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. This case was prosecuted by George J.C. Jacobs, III, and Brian Donovan, Assistant United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington.