Eight individuals have been apprehended in West Palm Beach, Fla. for attempting to claim more than $120,000 in auto insurance theft benefits; but, there was one hitch, they attempted to \”ditch\” the vehicles by selling them to undercover officers.
According to Tom Gallagher, Florida\’s CFO, the Department of Financial Services\’ Division of Insurance Fraud worked with a Palm Beach County Multi-Agency Auto-Theft Task Force in making the arrests.
Ditching, also referred to as an owner give-up, occurs when the owner is unhappy with the vehicle or can no longer keep up with payments and either pays someone to get rid of the car, as these suspects are accused of doing, or gets rid of it by dumping or burning the vehicle.