Former Vallejo Auto Body Shop Owner Sentenced For Insurance Fraud

VALLEJO (CBS SF) -- The former owner of a Vallejo auto body shop was sentenced this month for automobile insurance fraud, the California Department of Insurance said Wednesday.

Armand Eulano, 45, former owner and operator of G Collision in Vallejo, was convicted in Solano County Superior Court after pleading no contest to three felony counts of insurance fraud, the California Department of Insurance said.

Eulano billed Farmers Insurance for work he did not perform by cutting corners on bodywork and repairing parts instead of replacing them as agreed by the insurer, the Department of Insurance said.

The fraud came to light when Farmers Insurance did a random re-inspection of 11 vehicles that had been repaired at Eulano's body shop,

Department of Insurance spokeswoman Madison Voss said.

The Farmers Insurance inspection disclosed some of the vehicles had only been patched and painted despite Eulano's claim he replaced the damage with a new part. Eulano received payment for the higher repair cost, the Department of Insurance said.

The fraudulent billing happened between late 2009 and August 2010, Voss said.

Farmers Insurance then referred the case to the Department of Insurance.

Eulano, who also was charged with grand theft, was sentenced July 10 to probation and 30-day home detention and was ordered to pay $40,000 restitution, the Department of Insurance said.