8 Arrested for Fraud

Eight people, including three Orange County residents, were accused of trying to defraud insurance companies by staging a car accident in a Montebello parking lot, Insurance Department Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush said Monday.

The group tried to construct a “paper accident,” according to investigators with the Department of Insurance, which said the charges culminated a yearlong investigation.

Jessie Lauvao Toki, 33, of Stanton, allegedly drove the “at-fault” vehicle into the car of Thu Thao Thi Nguyen, 30, of Chino Hills, Quackenbush said. Alleged passengers Thu Nguyen, 31, of Garden Grove; Denise Nguyen, 28, of Alhambra; Cam Nguyen, 22, of Alhambra; and Nhi Nguyen, 22, of Ontario, claimed they received medical treatment for injuries suffered in the “accident,” according to the department.

Frank Ngo, 37, the husband of Thu Thao Thi Nguyen, is the group’s alleged ringleader, the commissioner said.

Ngo and Orange County resident Larry Lam, who is at large, allegedly recruited the other suspects and offered to pay Toki $2,000 for allowing a claim to be filed against her insurer.

The suspects filed claims against 20th Century Insurance Co., which paid about $3,000 for each claimant, and Sterling Casualty Insurance Co., he said. When Ngo asked Sterling for $15,000 for each claimant, company investigators became suspicious and referred the case to the insurance department’s fraud unit.