Dead Mice Used to Scam Car Owners

(Redwood City, California) The married owners of the Group Specialist auto repair business, Mehran Baranriz, 45, and Bita Imani, 35, have been charged with multiple felony counts of fraud and grand theft for allegedly stuffing dead mice in engine components to fake damage and assess unnecessary repair costs.

Using the rodent scheme and other fraudulent techniques, the couple allegedly filed $1.2 million worth of false insurance claims between January 2003 and March 2007, prosecutors said. The victims of the alleged scams were 25 insurance companies and 128 customers, prosecutors said. [...]

They each face 56 felony counts of filing false insurance claims and five felony counts of grand theft. Imani, who is also facing four counts of tax fraud, and Baranriz, who is charged with two counts of perjury, face up to 60 years in jail.

The criminal investigation of their auto repair shop grew out of a complaint filed by State Farm Insurance's audit department, which revealed that Group Specialists average rodent damage claims were five times higher than the state average.

Baranriz and Imani have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Baranriz remains in custody with bail set at $1.25 million. Imani was released on $750,000 bail. Baranriz has a court appearance scheduled for July 16. Imani is scheduled for court on July 11.