Martha Gutierrez DeRomero informed authorities she stopped her Chevy van, en path to a swap meet, amongst groves of fruit timber simply exterior Madera in Central California to regulate her merchandise when the boys appeared.
The 57-year-old had been touring the morning of Might 23 close to the intersection of Avenue 21 and Street 26, a two-lane rural thoroughfare close to a fireplace station, with $60,000 price of health merchandise piled in her automobile.
On the precise second she pulled over, two masked males with knives approached DeRomero and stole the van, she mentioned.
It was a story of timing — poor for DeRomero and fortuitous for the carjackers — that didn’t fairly sit nicely with Madera County sheriff’s deputies.
The van contained about $60,000 price of merchandise that included health clothes, waist trainers and dietary supplements, authorities mentioned.
(Madera County Sheriff’s Workplace)
DeRomero’s story finally crumbled following a number of rounds of interviews with investigators. Authorities decided the carjacking was nothing greater than a hoax with a aim of fast money by means of insurance coverage fraud, sheriff officers mentioned.
DeRomero and her boyfriend Alfredo Ledezma, 57, of Madera have been charged Friday with a felony rely of insurance coverage fraud and a misdemeanor rely of submitting a false police report, in accordance with courtroom information.
“What started as a severe and regarding report of a violent carjacking shortly unraveled underneath cautious investigation,” Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue mentioned in a press release. “Making an attempt to use emergency companies for private achieve will not be solely unlawful, it diverts sources from those that actually need assistance.”
Madera County Sheriff officers didn’t return cellphone calls from The Instances looking for further remark. DeRomero and Ledezma couldn’t instantly be reached for remark. It’s not clear if they’ve attorneys.
Each are due again in courtroom July 8 for arraignment hearings.
When DeRomero known as authorities simply after 8 a.m. on Might 23 to report that she had been carjacked investigators instantly launched into motion.
Deputies circulated an outline of the automobile and the suspects. Authorities finally discovered the white van deserted in close by Merced County and a storage locker that contained merchandise matching the outline of the stolen items.
After one other spherical of questioning detectives decided DeRomero and Ledezma had “staged the whole incident” as a part of an insurance coverage fraud scheme, in accordance with the felony criticism filed in Madera County Superior Court docket.
“I’m happy with our workforce for seeing by the deception and holding these accountable accountable,” Pogue mentioned.
