May 10, 2019
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Kim-Ramil Contreras Montaniel, of Bingen, Wash., pleaded guilty in Klickitat County Superior Court on May 6 to one count of filing a false insurance claim. He was sentenced to 30 days in confinement converted to 240 hours of community service and ordered to pay $600 in court fees.
Officials charged Montaniel in July 2018 with filing a false insurance claim after an investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU).
According to the investigation, Montaniel was in a collision with his 2017 Nissan Rogue in January 2018. Afterward, he purchased a Progressive auto insurance policy and filed a claim for $6,000 in damage that he said occurred after he bought the policy. However, the auto body shop repair estimate was dated before he bought the insurance policy.
Progressive denied the claim and referred the case to Kreidler’s CIU.
Montaniel failed to appear in Klickitat County Superior Court in August 2018 to face the charge against him. A bench warrant for his arrest was issued and bail was set for $25,000. In March 2019, he turned himself in to Klickitat County law enforcement after spending nearly seven months on Kreidler’s insurance fraud most wanted list.
Kreidler’s CIU investigates insurance fraud and works with the Washington State Patrol and local prosecutors on criminal cases. Insurance fraud costs the average family $400 to $700 per year in increased premiums. Insurance companies are required by law to report fraud to the commissioner. Consumers can report suspected insurance fraud on the insurance commissioner’s website.