Marin County resident sentenced for insurance fraud
Court gavel. (Photo by MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, Calif. - A Marin County resident was sentenced to 180 days in Marin County Jail, with the potential for additional prison time, after pleading guilty to felony insurance fraud.
The Marin County District Attorney's Office on February 13 filed multiple insurance fraud charges against 46-year-old Marilyn Gibson. Gibson pleaded guilty to filing a false insurance claim, a felony, and admitted several enhancements related to her prior criminal history, which includes multiple prior fraud-related convictions.
In addition to the 180 days in jail, Gibson was also sentenced to two years' supervised probation, during which she must pay a $1,000 fine, complete 40 hours of community service and complete a theft awareness class. If she fails to meet the conditions of her probation, she will serve the three-year prison sentence.
False claim
The backstory:
Gibson rear-ended another car on Sept. 15, 2021, which caused significant damage to the hood of her vehicle. The day following the accident, she called an insurance company and obtained a policy without disclosing the accident she had caused.
She on Sept. 23 filed a false claim under the new policy, asserting that her car was parked near Carlotta Circle when it was struck by another car that fled the scene. That claim was denied due to a lack of proper collision coverage, and the policy was later canceled for nonpayment.
Six weeks later Gibson obtained a second insurance policy with a different insurance carrier, which went into effect on Dec. 8, 2021. In January of 2022 Gibson submitted a false claim under the second policy, asserting once again that her parked car was struck by another vehicle that fled the scene. She submitted as proof the same photos of the damaged hood that she had submitted in support of her Sept. false claim.
An investigator from the second insurance company determined that Gibson had made the same claim to the first insurance company. Gibson denied the accusation and insisted she bought the car in September, 2021 and had experienced no accidents.
Gibson was sentenced on Oct. 20 to 180 days in jail as well as three years in prison — a term that is stayed pending Gibson's completion of two-years of probation. During