The Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida arrested a Cape Coral man for insurance fraud.
According to court records, Ivan Antonio Gomez, 53, is facing one charge of knowingly making a false report of an alleged crime and one charge of making a false statement to an insurance company.
According to court records obtained by NBC2, Gomez claimed to have dropped his car off at a tire shop on Palm Beach Blvd for an oil change on February 24. Gomez then called the sheriff’s office about his car being ‘vandalized’ before he received a call back from the shop owner, who reported the same thing.
The Mercedes Benz had two smashed windows, a broken dashboard computer, and ripped seats. The only seat not destroyed was the driver’s side.
Later, detectives found cameras nearby that captured Gomez on video, dropping off the car and grabbing a metal rod to damage it himself.
During the investigation, law enforcement discovered that Gomez owed about $40,000 on the car, and after the damages, he filed an insurance claim, according to his arrest report. Four days after filing the claim, he withdrew it.
According to court records, Gomez was arrested on April 17 and released a day later after having paid $3,000 in bond.
His next court date is on May 20.
