Huntington Beach couple pleads guilty to insurance fraud

A Huntington Beach couple pleaded guilty Friday to ripping off an insurance company and were sentenced to four days in jail, or time already served behind bars.

Hung Ta and his wife Tam Truong pleaded guilty to a felony count of money laundering derived from criminal activity. As part of their plea deal, they paid $27,696 in restitution and a dozen other felony counts of grand theft and making false or fraudulent claims were dismissed.

The couple were placed on two years of formal probation.

They reported to authorities their home was burglarized on Oct. 21, 2017, according to investigators in court records. They signed a theft affidavit on Nov. 30, 2017, with National General Insurance for $878,018 in lost property, but were paid $127,876, investigators said.

In a federal investigation it came to light they had falsified receipts for about $68,815, investigators said.

Truong allegedly admitted to federal investigators in August 2019 of falsifying some receipts.

A forensic examination of the claim showed the couple claimed $865,308 and were paid $59,625, investigators said.