Both cases involved YouTube channels where the alleged fraudsters had broadcast videos of the crashes and other incidents.
If you’re going to make insurance fraud commonplace, a side hustle is critical to making ends meet during the lull between schemes.
For three California men — charged in unrelated but similar incidents of insurance fraud — chasing those YouTube ad dollars was a way to supplement their fraudulent income while using footage of their crimes, according to the California Department of Insurance.
Eliu Canales was arraigned March 22, 2023 on 54 felony counts of insurance fraud, assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving, the state Department of Insurance said.
Canales, who worked as a tow truck driver for AAA and taught defensive driving, allegedly claimed more than $86,000 in damages and collected more than $35,000 from insurance companies after staged accidents.
From 2017-2022, he committed approximately 22 vehicle collisions in and around Stockton, California. According to the insurance department, Canales would ride in the blind spot of an unsuspecting driver and wait for the driver to change lanes, at which time Canales would accelerate and sometimes swerve into the other vehicle. Immediately after the collision, Canales would file claims against the other driver’s insurance company.
The alleged fraudster from Stockton was recording the incidents and uploading them to his YouTube channel, which was titled ‘Stockton Drivers’ and highlighted the ‘bad drivers’ in the area. Most of the videos have now been removed from the site, the California Department of Insurance said.
Canales is due back in court on March 29, 2023.
With a child at hand
Meanwhile, about 390 miles south of Stockton in San Bernardino, Christopher Phelps and his wife, Kimberly, were causing similar havoc and capturing it on video. To make matters worse, the couple’s child was present in the vehicle during a number of incidents, according to the state Department of Insurance. The two were arrested on March 23, 2023.
According to the California Department of Insurance, Phelps’ YouTube channel includes approximately 162 videos of collisions, attempted or near-collisions, road accidents and other content involving the pair.
About 23 of the collisions documented in the videos were related to 17 insurance claims filed by Christopher Phelps. More than 40 of the videos are related to road rage incidents and attempted crashes involving Phelps.
In February 2023, Christopher Phelps was also arrested for insurance fraud. In that case, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office notified the insurance department that Phelps was involved in a suspicious collision in which he stopped for no apparent reason and caused a truck pulling a trailer to rear-end his vehicle.
Shortly after that collision, a rear-view dash cam video of the crash was posted on YouTube. Insurance detectives searched the area near the accident for surveillance footage and witnesses, which led to Phelps’ arrest in February. He had posted bail and was released.
Following his arrest in March 2023, Christopher Phelps was charged with 11 felony counts of insurance fraud, six counts of assault with a deadly weapon and five counts of child endangerment. Kimberly Phelps is charged with two counts of child endangerment and one count of insurance fraud.
As of March 24, 2023, both were being held on $500,000 bail.
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