3 Sought in Fake Crash Scam

State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi is seeking the public’s help in finding three remaining suspects in a Koreatown fraud ring accused of submitting about $2 million in phony insurance claims for car accidents that never occurred.

Seven suspects were arrested in October on numerous felony counts of insurance fraud, conspiracy, grand theft, false personation, identity theft and money-laundering, but three remain at large, Garamendi said this week.

“The scheme allegedly used by these suspects is a poster child for insurance fraud: The claims are fake and the property damages are fake, but the economic losses are very real, with consumers picking up the tab,” Garamendi said. “These arrests show that time and time again the Department of Insurance, working in tandem with local law enforcement and insurance industry partners, will discover the fraud and you will be prosecuted.”

The case was brought to officials’ attention after two appraisers from different insurance companies found themselves at the same body shop inspecting the same car for accidents on the same date.

Those arrested were Zarik Garabedian, 26, of Tujunga; Anzhela Karapetyan, 31, of Van Nuys; Gevork Keshisyan, 38, of North Hollywood; Sedrak Kocharian, 27, of North Hollywood; Tatul Kocharian, 49, of North Hollywood; Narine Mkryan, 29, of Glendale; and Alexan Zareh, 28, of Tujunga.

Still at large are Byoung Hwan Park, 41, and Tae Won Kim, 42, of Los Angeles; and Du Chul Kim, 42, of Granada Hills.

In the scheme, luxury and new vehicles were insured multiple times with various insurance companies, damaged intentionally and photographed so that claims could be repeatedly submitted for accidents that never occurred, Garamendi said.

The ring filed 23 fake claims for alleged accidents at the Koreatown intersection of 8th Street and Kingsley Drive. Body shops were used to facilitate the scheme, with TNS Body Shop in Tujunga being used repeatedly.

A total of 112 fraudulent claims for property damage were submitted from January 1999 to March 2002 to 26 insurance companies.

These companies, ranging from Allstate to Vesta Fire Insurance Co., paid out about $2 million for losses that never occurred, Garamendi said.

Multiple claims were made on 28 cars. A 1999 Lexus was used in 28 claims over a 20-month period, all alleging the same damage.

Often multiple insurance policies were issued for the same vehicle, Garamendi said.