Cd'A man sentenced for insurance fraud

A Coeur d’Alene man convicted of insurance fraud will spend 30 days in jail, perform 50 hours of community service and pay $5,177 in restitution and $300 in court costs.

First District Judge John Luster sentenced Pat W. Benson, 60, on Thursday. A jury convicted Benson Oct. 19.

Benson was responsible for a Dec. 3, 2014 auto wreck in Coeur d’Alene. At the time of the crash, Benson’s vehicle was not insured. While at the scene, he called Allstate Insurance to add the vehicle to his insurance policy. During the subsequent claim investigation, Benson falsely stated the accident occurred after he called to add the vehicle to his policy. Disptach and cell phone records cofirmed the accident occurred prior to the call to Allstate.

Judge Luster sentenced Benson to a unified term of three years, with one year fixed and two years indeterminate. The sentence was suspended and Benson was placed on two years probation. Judge Luster also ordered the defendant to serve 30 days in jail and 50 hours of community service. Benson was ordered to pay the restitution to Allstate and court costs.

The case was investigated by the Idaho Department of Insurance and prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Jessica Cafferty of the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit.