Canyon County man sentenced for insurance fraud

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has announced a Canyon County man was sentenced Tuesday for insurance fraud.

41-year-old Christopher J. Katsikaris, of Nampa, pleaded guilty in June.

Third District Court Judge Andrea Courtney sentenced Katsikaris to two years fixed plus two years indeterminate. The court then suspended the sentence and placed Katsikaris on two years supervised probation. The court imposed 150 days of suspended discretionary jail time to be utilized by a probation officer as deemed necessary. Judge Courtney also ordered Katsikaris to pay a $500 fine, court costs, $2,528 in restitution to Progressive Insurance and $514 to the Idaho Department of Insurance.

In April 2018, Katsikaris reported his Jeep Patriot stolen. The vehicle was later found abandoned in Owyhee County with significant damage, though he reported it had only a small amount of damage prior to the alleged theft. An investigation showed that most of the damage was present before the vehicle was reported stolen, as evidenced by photos taken at a Treasure Valley auto dealership a week before the reported theft. Katsikaris’ claim that the Jeep had minimal prior damage was an attempt to get more money on his claim, which was denied.

Deputy Attorney General Nicole Schafer in the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case. The Department of Insurance investigated.