Three people have been arrested in connection with a scheme to defraud insurance companies out of tens of thousands of dollars by filing false claims for bodily injury, car crashes and property damage resulting from the 2019 Saddle Ridge Fire in the San Fernando Valley, officials announced last week.
The Saddle Ridge Fire burned nearly 9,000 acres in the Sylmar area over 21 days.
In a press release from the California Department of Insurance, officials said 43-year-old Porter Ranch resident Pedram Sharokhi, his wife 37-year-old Shabnam Rahbar Vafaee, and their associate 40-year-old Reseda resident Jimmy Swinder conspired to commit insurance fraud, grand theft, identity theft, forgery, money laundering and the unlawful practice of law for personal gain.
“The investigation found Sharokhi, who is not a licensed California attorney, was acting as a practicing attorney and on behalf of actual licensed attorneys without their knowledge,” officials said.
Neither Vafaee or Swinder are licensed attorneys either. Swinder’s law license was suspended in Aug. 2019.
Using various legal entities, the trio submitted documents, many of them falsified and forged, to support their fraudulent insurance claims, which included medical reports and invoices, smoke cleaning estimates and demand packages.
Amid the scheme, Sharokhi misrepresented himself as an attorney to his clients and the insurance companies “by advertising, through business cards and office signage,” claiming they could provide legal services, the release noted.
The 43-year-old and his associates illegally collected more than $75,000 and then deposited the checks in accounts accessible to Sharokhi.
“To orchestrate their scheme, Sharokhi and his associates employed licensed attorneys under the disguise that these hired attorneys only made court appearances or worked on drafts. The hired attorneys were under the impression that another licensed attorney handled the claims and was the attorney of record. Sharokhi and his associates then used that licensed attorney’s information to communicate, negotiate and settle claims.”
Officials added that licensed attorneys were unaware that Sharokhi or his associates were using their identities without their consent.
The trio was arrested on Oct. 10.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.
