LOS ANGELES : Attorney Gets 5 Years, Fine for Car Insurance Fraud
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A Los Angeles attorney convicted in an automobile insurance fraud ring allegedly a run by a Downey housewife was sentenced Monday to five years in prison and fined $5,000.
Myron Toplitzky, 47, also resigned his membership in the State Bar of California. The former lawyer was convicted last month of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, grand theft and conspiracy.
Toplitzky was indicted last year in connection with the ring that prosecutors said was run by Esther Diaz, 51. Diaz, who pleaded guilty to filing false and fraudulent insurance claims, is serving a seven-year prison term.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Barry G. Thorpe said the ring was operated out of a storefront in a small shopping mall in Downey. The prosecutor said most of the crashes were staged. Participants used scripts and rehearsed their roles before filing their claims, Thorpe said.
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