January 29, 2019
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Quoc Thang-Hoang Tran, of Renton, was found guilty in King County Superior Court on one misdemeanor count of filing a fraudulent insurance claim in connection with a motorcycle claim. Tran will serve 120 hours of community service, 12 months of unsupervised probation and was ordered pay $500 in court fees.
King County prosecutors charged Tran after an investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU).
According to the investigation, GEICO canceled the policy on Tran’s 2010 Ducati motorcycle policy for nonpayment in June 2017. Tran reinstated the policy on Aug. 6, 2017 and filed a $6,848 total loss claim on Aug. 22 for a collision he said occurred on Aug. 12. Washington State Patrol records showed the accident happened on Aug. 5, the day before Tran reinstated coverage. GEICO denied the claim and referred the case to Kreidler’s CIU, as required by state law.
Kreidler’s CIU investigates insurance fraud and works with the Washington State Patrol and state 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.