3 Convicted in California for Phony Car Insurance Claims

Three people have been convicted of filing more than $60,000 in false insurance claims related to an auto accident they staged in a Garden Grove, Calif., intersection.

Orange County prosecutors say Phuong Nhu Nguyen of Westminster was sentenced Thursday to three years of formal probation and a 90-day jail sentence that was stayed pending the completion of 240 hours of community service. Hoia Van Nguyen and Tracy Phuong Nguyen – who are married and live in Huntington Beach – were each sentenced to three years of formal probation and 120 days in jail.

Prosecutors say they were among five people who set up a collision between two cars in 2008. All five filed insurance claims for more than $60,000 in bodily injuries and damage to the vehicles.

Investigators determined that the five had all known each other.