LoJack Helps LAPD Officers Uncover Case of Insurance Fraud on “Stolen” Mercedes Benz
- June 30, 2012
- recovery stories
On June 8, 2012, the owner of a 2001 Mercedes Benz contacted the Long Beach Police Department to report that his vehicle had been stolen. Long Beach officers verified the theft and entered the Mercedes’ information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Mercedes Benz. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department-North Hollywood Division picked up the silent LoJack homing signal from the stolen Mercedes on the Police Tracking Computers installed in their patrol vehicles.
Following the directional and audible signal cues on the LoJack computers, the officers tracked the vehicle to the area of Otsego Street and Vineland Boulevard. The officers pinpointed the Mercedes’ location to a garage in the rear of an apartment complex. Follow-up investigation revealed that the garage was owned by a person who was renting the space, but not living at the location. Officers set up a perimeter around the location while awaiting further information on the owner. After some time, officers observed a vehicle drive up to the location and stop. A passenger exited the vehicle and walked to the rear area of the complex, where the garages are located, and then returned to the vehicle. Officers ran the license plate number and discovered that the vehicle was registered to the person who rented the garage. Officers conducted a traffic stop, and interviewed the two suspects. The owner of the stolen Mercedes admitted that he parked his vehicle in the garage, made a police report and filed an insurance claim. Both suspects were booked for insurance fraud-related charges. The vehicle was impounded as evidence.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in this vehicle in March of 2004 at Penske Mercedes, in the City of West Covina.