Former LAPD reserve officer and his brother charged with insurance fraud over Bentley crash
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A former Los Angeles Police Department reserve officer and his brother have been charged with insurance fraud after prosecutors say they misrepresented details in a more than $200,000 insurance claim related to a Bentley crash in January 2023.
Eric Benjamin “Ben” Halem, 37, a former full-time LAPD officer and ex-reserve officer, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of insurance fraud on Friday. His brother Jacob Halem, 32, also pleaded not guilty to a count of insurance fraud, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Eric Halem’s car rental company, Drive LA, boasts a fleet of rare, luxury vehicles, including a 2020 Bentley Continental GT. The California Department of Insurance said in a news release on Friday that Eric Halem told his insurance company that his brother had borrowed the vehicle and crashed it on Jan. 5, 2023.
Four Los Angeles residents are accused of creating videos of a fake bear ravaging pricey automobiles to cash in on the insurance money.
But the department’s investigation revealed that the Bentley had been rented by a Drive LA client and that the renter crashed the vehicle three days before the brothers claimed Jacob crashed it.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the accident scene involving the rental driver and documented the vehicle’s damage with body camera footage, the insurance department said in its release.
After the rental driver’s insurance claim was denied because of a lack of proper coverage, Eric Halem filed a fraudulent claim with his insurance company on his personal policy, misrepresenting details of the accident, authorities allege.
An attorney representing Jacob Halem did not immediately return a request for comment. It is not clear if Eric Halem has an attorney.
Fifteen people, including a California Highway Patrol employee, were charged this month with participating in a scheme to defraud insurance companies.
The department of insurance alleges that Eric Halem claimed his brother had been driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, which they said was on Jan. 5, 2023. They submitted what the department called “staged photographs” of the damaged Bentley on a tow truck.
Insurance department investigators said the damage in the photos the brothers submitted was identical to the damage captured on body camera footage from the renter’s crash three days earlier.
Authorities allege Jacob Halem provided a false statement to the insurance company investigator to corroborate his brother’s claim.
The department of insurance confirmed Friday that the insurance company didn’t pay out anything for the claim. The agency said the “total potential loss” from the claim would have been $229,283.
Eric Halem was removed as a reserve officer with LAPD in March, according to a department spokesperson.
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