5 accused of staging car crash to collect $30,000+ insurance payout

LOS ANGELES - Five people were arrested for insurance fraud for allegedly staging a car crash to collect the $30,000+ insurance payout, according to California's Department of Insurance. 

Officials said home surveillance video helped lead investigators to the five suspects in Ontario. Those suspects have been identified as Priscilla Carmona Arajo, 29, of Fontana; Juan Barajas, 25, of Upland; Gabriella Cervantes, 52, of Rancho Cucamonga; Roberto Carlos Macias, 40, of Chino; Humberto Ortiz, 32, of Ontario.

The surveillance video, shared from a neighbor's security camera, showed one of the suspects leaving the vehicle in the middle of an intersection, while another suspect crashes into the vacant car shortly afterward. Both suspects then ran away from the scene, officials said. 

An investigation was initiated by the Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force after a woman claimed to be a victim of a hit-and-run. Witnesses of the crash told authorities, however, that the woman walked over to the vehicles after the crash.

The San Bernadino County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting this case. 

Officials are advising drivers who suspect they or someone they know to be the victim of a staged collision to file a police report and report the suspicious collision to the California Department of Insurance by calling 800-927-4357 or visiting insurance.ca.gov.