Group Specialist
Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: (800) 789-2369
07/08/2008 Posted by StanleyWong
Two accused of bilking luxury car owners and insurers by stuffing dead animals into engine components By Michael Manekin The husband-and-wife managers of a Redwood City auto repair shop that allegedly swindled customers by faking damage to luxury cars and charging for fake repairs pleaded not guilty Tuesday to multiple felony counts of fraud and grand theft. Mehran Baranriz, 45, and Bita Imani, 35, of Group Specialist in Redwood City, stand accused of stuffing dead animals into the engine components of their customers' BMW and Mercedes vehicles.The couple would file false rodent damage claims to insurance companies and pretend to replace parts, according to prosecutors. Using the rodent scheme and other fraudulent techniques, the couple allegedly filed $1.2 million worth of false insurance claims between January 2003 and March 2007, prosecutors said. The victims of the alleged scams were 25 insurance companies and 128 customers, prosecutors said.
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