Victim of insurance fraud

[mikyl]

I had a ticket for failure to maintain financial responsibility in Texas because I was driving a friend's car that the insurance was just two days past due.In the court, i opted for deferred position; that is, to pay a certain amount of money to be on probation for 6months so that it won't go into my record.In that six months of probation, i was ordered that I must maintain insurance and avoid getting any kind of moving ticket anywhere in the US.
Now,the car that I had these six months of probation was a car a friend sold to me because he had two cars.The car he sold to me was already under his insurance.So when I bought it ,I continued with his insurance and my name was added to the insurance policy as a driver.
As for payment,what I did was to transfer my part of the insurance payment for him to pay since his own car and my car are on the insurance policy. Unfortunately,after six months of my probation,s ince my name is on the insurance, I called the insurance agent that I need a letter of experience to show to the court that I have kept insurance in the last 6months so that my case can be dismissed.The agent told me,my friend has not been making monthly payments on the insurance inspite of the fact that I transfer money to him monthly.
Since I have not been able to provide the court clerks proof of insurance to dismiss my case over counter,they set up a court date for me to appear before a judge.
Now, the car that I bought from my friend recently developed an engine problem.I recently bought a new car and since my discovery of what my friend did,I now have my own insurance and have paid for the policy upto March of 2014.
My questions are:What should I tell the judge in court why I'm not able to provide a letter from my insurance company that I kept insurance during my probation.Should I tell the judge the truth that I was victim of insurance fraud from my friend? I have proofs of the transfer I made to him and text messages indicating insurance money transfer to him. Or should i lie to the judge that I did not drive a car during my probation period because my car engine went bad so there was no need to keep insurance on a dead car? (Although the car like I said recently developed the engine problem not during my probation).
Or simply tell the judge to dismiss my case or put me on another six months probation since I have demonstrated I'm ready to keep insurance by the purchase of a new insurance policy on my new car that is already paid for up to March 2014.
Pls help me with your advice.

 

[justalayman]

Now,the car that I had these six months of probation was a car a friend sold to me because he had two cars.The car he sold to me was already under his insurance.So when I bought it ,I continued with his insurance and my name was added to the insurance policy as a driver.

victim or perpetrator of insurance fraud because what you just described is that you possibly committed insurance fraud?.

before this goes any further; did you ever speak to the other guys insurance company? Was your car listed on his policy with you as title holder?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

So where did you live when on his insurance policy? You may have been committing insurance fraud also.

 

[mikyl]

The car I bought from him was still in his name throughout the six months of my probation.I only recently went to change it to my name.Few weeks later the engine was out.So I just bought a new car with my own insurance.
I was added to his insurance then as a driver.The two cars on the insurance; that is the one he was using and the one I was using were in his name.I was added as a driver.Is that considered fraud?

I lived in his address before but I moved out since even before my probation started but the insurance had his address.

Pls guys whatever your interpretation maybe,what is the way forward for me.What options do I have?I'm new in the US;I'm a legal foreign resident.

 

[mikyl]

victim or perpetrator of insurance fraud because what you just described is that you possibly committed insurance fraud?.

before this goes any further; did you ever speak to the other guys insurance company? Was your car listed on his policy with you as title holder?

The car was not listed under my name as the title holder.The car was still under hid name.I was only added as a driver but I still made payments to the insurance company through him.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

So you fraudulently failed to transfer the title and fraudulently attempted to carry insurance coverage.

 

[mikyl]

So you fraudulently failed to transfer the title and fraudulently attempted to carry insurance coverage.

I had not finished paying for the car then that was why he didn't give me the title to transfer to my name then.Like I said,I'm new here and never knew such actions are fraudulent because the insurance agent himself never told me that when he confortably listed me as a driver.Besides,when I bought my own insurance recently,no one even asked me for the title of my car.This forum is meant to be an advice forum and not mock situations.I would rather prefer you take your time to educate me on how things like this work or are suppose to be in an Ideal situation than mock the entire situation.

 

[LdiJ]

I had not finished paying for the car then that was why he didn't give me the title to transfer to my name then.Like I said,I'm new here and never knew such actions are fraudulent because the insurance agent himself never told me that when he confortably listed me as a driver.Besides,when I bought my own insurance recently,no one even asked me for the title of my car.This forum is meant to be an advice forum and not mock situations.I would rather prefer you take your time to educate me on how things like this work or are suppose to be in an Ideal situation than mock the entire situation.

I am not at all sure that your actions were fraudulent. He listed you as a driver so that part was completely on the up and up. Its also not uncommon in a private sale between parties that know each other for one party to retain ownership of the vehicle until the other party has paid in full.

It certainly would not have been fraudulent for him to lend you a car and list you as a driver. I cannot see how the fact that you were paying him for the car and the title didn't transfer until you paid in full makes it fraudulent.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Then OP did not own the vehicle he claims he owns. There are legal processes for this. They are called motor vehicle liens.

I am not at all sure that your actions were fraudulent. He listed you as a driver so that part was completely on the up and up. Its also not uncommon in a private sale between parties that know each other for one party to retain ownership of the vehicle until the other party has paid in full.

It certainly would not have been fraudulent for him to lend you a car and list you as a driver. I cannot see how the fact that you were paying him for the car and the title didn't transfer until you paid in full makes it fraudulent.

 

[LdiJ]

Then OP did not own the vehicle he claims he owns. There are legal processes for this. They are called motor vehicle liens.

Nevertheless, the fact that it was not done the way a car dealer would do it does not make it fraudulent.

 

[Silverplum]

Who's the "victim of insurance fraud" here?

Certainly not the OP.

 

[Silverplum]

I had not finished paying for the car then that was why he didn't give me the title to transfer to my name then.Like I said,I'm new here and never knew such actions are fraudulent because the insurance agent himself never told me that when he confortably listed me as a driver.Besides,when I bought my own insurance recently,no one even asked me for the title of my car.This forum is meant to be an advice forum and not mock situations.I would rather prefer you take your time to educate me on how things like this work or are suppose to be in an Ideal situation than mock the entire situation.

Thanks for telling us how the forum is supposed to be.

There is no mocking. You can chalk up your discomfort to the fact that you don't understand what you're reading.

 

[justalayman]

I don't see anything fraudulent in what the OP did as long as the insurance company was aware of the facts. That is not the issue and I doubt it will be an issue a judge is going to even care about.

what the judge is going to care about is OP has been driving around (apparently) in a car with no insurance even though he claims he has been paying his buddy for a share of the insurance and the buddy failed to continue the insurance on the car OP was driving.




first rule: do not lie to a judge. They obtain information from many places. They come to independent conclusion which they can act on as well. If you lie and the judge finds out otherwise or thinks you are lying, he is not going to be a happy judge. He could basically say you violated the terms of your probation and revokes it. Don't know if you could end up in jail but it isn't worth it in my opinion to tempt it.


What I would do is:

find every proof you can of your payments to your buddy for the insurance. I doubt you will get your buddy to provide a statement that he broke the law by alllowing you to drive the car without insurance but if he is that dumb, go for it.

If there was insurance at any time on your car (the one you were buying), I would ask the insurance agent if they can provide a statement of just when the insurance was dropped and why (may not since you are not the policy holder). If it shows your buddy initially had insurance and let it lapse, that is about the best you can do.


Then, along with that, I would walk into the court with a dour face and attitude. You are at the mercy of the court at this point so do not be snotty, snide, argumentative, or anything else that might suggest anything other than the utmost respect for the court and acceptance of the seriousness of the issue.


Don't know if a tear in the eye or a slight whimper occasionally would help but if you use them, them best be sincere.


then face it like a man and see where it goes. Sometimes a court would rather you learned from what happened and not just take the punishment and laugh. If the facts supporting your claim show it is true and the fact you realize how screwed you are but that you had believed you were all good to go, a judge might just find that a bit refreshing and give you another chance.

 

[mikyl]

Thanks JUSTALAYMAN,your contribution is unparalleled.I used the policy number to pull up the payment history on the insurance company's website.My (supposed) friend made payments after I got the ticket.lets say I got the ticket August last year and started probation March this year to end August this year.My friend made payments from September last year till March of this year then stopped.No Payment was made from April to August of this year inspite of the fact that I transferred insurance fee to him during the entire period.My conclusion is that his action was premeditated because he was in court with me the day I went to pay the fee to start probation.He was there when the court clerk stressed on the need for me to keep insurance during the probation period and avoid any traffic ticket at all cost.Traffic ticket I didn't get at all but insurance I thought I was taking care of by the side was not been paid by my friend.He intentionally did it to screw my record.The transfers I made to him are on my bank statements and the text messages I sent to him to notify him of the insurance transfer,I have them.Thanks for your maturity and your valuable input.