Man Gets Jail For Staged Motorcycle Wreck

An Idaho Falls man will serve 20 days in jail for insurance fraud and damaging insured property after he faked a motorcycle crash.

Jason Preston, 31, was sentenced Monday to one to four years in prison, 20 days in the county jail, 100 hours of community service and four years probation. Sixth District Judge Joel Tingey also ordered Preston to pay a $750 fine and court costs. The prison sentence was suspended.

Preston pleaded guilty to both charges in March.

In July, Preston reported to the Bonneville County Sheriff?s Office that his motorcycle was damaged when he went down to avoid an animal.

In fact, the Idaho Attorney General?s Office said, Preston had placed the motorcycle in the back of his pickup truck and had gone to a rural road outside Idaho Falls. While his girlfriend drove the truck at 40 to 50 mph, Preston pushed the motorcycle onto the road. He then made his girlfriend drag him down the road behind the truck to make his clothing look like it had been damaged in a motorcycle accident.

His girlfriend then left the scene, and Preston called 911 to report the accident. He later made false statements about the event to his insurance company.

The case was investigated by the Bonneville County Sheriff?s Office and the Idaho Department of Insurance. The Attorney General?s Insurance Crimes Unit acted as special prosecutor at the request of the Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney.

The girlfriend, who cooperated as the state’s witness, was not prosecuted.