The State - News from June 25, 1986

A mother and son from Tuolumne County have been sent to federal prison for a scam that may have bilked an insurance company of almost $1 million. Jean H. Hazel, 54, of Tuolumne City was sentenced in Fresno to seven years in prison by U.S. District Judge Dean Edward Price in the theft of $912,376 from Insurance Co. of North America. Her son, Cory Hazel, 25, of Sonora, received a 40-month sentence, while a third defendant, Carl Stansbury, 26, of Modesto was placed on five years probation. Jean Hazel issued more than 500 company checks to members of her family and phony businesses when she worked as an adjuster at the Fresno office, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Ivan S. Abrams. The scheme had been under way for 2 1/2 years when company investigators discovered it in 1982, Abrams said. The defendants pleaded guilty earlier to interstate transport of stolen property.