TX Man May Ride Straight to Prison for Harley Fraud

David Brittain, 41 is accused of hiding his vintage Harley Davidson motorcycle in his now ex-girlfriend’s mother’s garage while claiming that it was stolen. Yes, you did catch an “ex” in there, which is of course bad news for Brittain.  If convicted on his insurance fraud charge, he could face up to two years in jail.

According to yourspringnews.com, Brittain was set to appear on December 6^th before Judge Vanessa Velasquez of the 183^rd state District Court in Harris County, charged with felony insurance fraud. The charge stems from an investigation by the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office (HCFMO) after Geico, Brittain’s insurance company, paid him $7,552 after he allegedly filed a claim stating that his 1976 Harley was stolen 10 days after he bought a policy on it back in July of 2008.

The criminal complaint against Brittain states that Lieutenant Investigator Chad Shaw of the HCFMO was contacted in June of 2011 by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and given documentation that shows Brittain purchasing the policy on July 15, 2008 and then filing the claim on July 25, 2008.

But Brittain’s girlfriend at the time told an NCIB agent a year after the claim was paid that the motorcycle was being stored at her mother’s home.

When the two began dating in July of 2008, “…he had told her about claiming his motorcycle stolen and showed her the motorcycle which was being stored in a covered trailer” in Pasadena, the complaint states.

The complaint also notes that Brittain then allegedly moved the Harley to his girlfriend’s house and then to her mother’s garage.

Brittain and his girlfriend eventually began having problems in their relationship.  In 2009, when we presume that flowers would not be enough to enough to repair the relationship, she told him that if he didn’t leave her alone, she would report him for fraud, which she apparently made good on.

The complaint states that “He began to panic and moved the motorcycle out of the garage. Prior to him picking up the motorcycle (the girlfriend’s) mother took photographs of the motorcycle.”

At one point, Brittain also allegedly took the motorcycle in a trailer to a parking lot to show a friend.

“While they were looking at the motorcycle Defendant Brittain told them he had been paid $10,000 for an insurance claim … and that he could not ride the motorcycle until he got another frame so that if he got pulled over the Vehicle Identification Number would not show stolen,” the complaint states.

Houston attorney Marcus Adrogue, who is representing Brittain said, “It’s definitely an ongoing investigation.”

Investigator Shaw noted that insurance fraud costs the U.S. $102 billion a year. He stated, “Harris County is one of the leading areas in the nation.” “Texas is in the top five (states) for insurance fraud.”

Officers with the Montgomery County Auto Theft Task Force investigate “very few” insurance fraud cases, said Lt. David Moore, who heads the task force.

“We get mainly title fraud,” he said. “Every once in a while we get insurance fraud.”

The NICB notes that since 2007, motorcycle thefts have dropped by 24%.

There is no mention of immunity for the ex in exchange for her cooperation, but at one point when things were going swell between her and Brittain, she and her mother were apparently O.K. with the fraud scheme as they allowed him to hide it on their property after he told them about the sham.  Should the ex-girlfriend (and perhaps her mother) be prosecuted for aiding Brittain?