Photos Expose Theft Claim as Case of Fraud

A picture may be worth a thousand words. But in Michelle Montgomery’s case, it cost her a job and gained her a felony conviction.

The 27-year-old former Pacoima resident filed an insurance claim in June, alleging that an armed robber stole $8,420 in jewelry and cash from her in the parking lot of a Carson shopping center.

Montgomery submitted photographs to prove she had owned the jewelry. However, an investigator found the photos were taken with film that, based on serial numbers, was not for sale until after the “robbery.”

Montgomery, then a probation officer at San Fernando Valley Juvenile Hall, pleaded guilty in February to a felony charge of submitting a fraudulent insurance claim.

3 Years Probation

She was sentenced Thursday to three years probation and 500 hours of community service.

The plea bargain also required Montgomery to resign from her job, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Lloyd M. Nash. Her supervisor confirmed Thursday that Montgomery, who now lives in the Riverside County community of Moreno Valley, no longer works for the County of Los Angeles.

State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. discovered the fraud before paying the claim, Nash said. But court records show that Montgomery collected more than $17,000 from two other insurance companies for alleged burglaries at her residence in 1984 and 1986.

No charges were filed in connection with those claims, Nash said.