WHAT: Insurance fraud arrestARREST DATE: Friday, Aug. 7, 2009
ARRESTED: Marsha Lynn Saxton, 53, 7645 58th St. N., Pinellas Park
CHARGE: Insurance fraud $20,000 to $100,000
SUMMARY: Saxton was arrested in connection with an undercover Collier County Sheriff’s Office investigation into auto insurance fraud.
Arrest reports gave this account:
Detectives with CCSO’s Auto Theft Unit received information in May that someone was trying to get rid of a Corvette as part of an insurance fraud.
An undercover CCSO detective met with the seller and learned that Saxton, who lived in Hillsborough County, wanted her 2003 silver Corvette to “disappear.” The seller told the detective that he would sell him the Corvette for $4,000 and that Saxton would then report the vehicle stolen.
The seller explained that it would be up to the detective to dispose of the Corvette. The seller told the detective that Saxton needed to report the Corvette as stolen in order to collect the auto insurance money.
On June 19, the undercover deputy met with the seller and another man at an undisclosed location, where the deputy purchased the Corvette from the two men.
Minutes earlier, CCSO deputies stationed at a nearby location watched as Saxton drove up in the Corvette, got out of the car and handed the keys to the seller and the other man, who then drove the Corvette to the prearranged meeting with the undercover detective.
The men told the detective to drive the Corvette to another location and to bring the car keys back to them because the owner needed to have possession of the keys when the car is reported stolen.
The undercover detective then drove the Corvette to the CCSO impound garage and returned the keys to the sellers.
Saxton reported the Corvette stolen to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on June 22, the same day she file a claim with her insurance company. The value of the Corvette was determined to be $24,000.
Detectives interviewed Saxton on Friday and arrested her, reports said.
The investigation continues and more arrests are pending, said Lt. Chad Parker, head of CCSO’s Financial Crimes Bureau.
Parker said the case is a collaborative effort among CCSO, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, State Farm Insurance Co., National Insurance Crime Bureau, and Florida Division of Insurance Fraud.
Marsha Saxton's 2003 Corvette that an undercover detective paid $4,000 for as part of a CCSO investigation into insurance fraud.
