Pocatello woman sentenced for insurance fraud

Fourth District Judge Melissa Moody sentenced a Pocatello woman Monday to three years probation and 200 hours of community service after she pleaded guilty to Insurance Fraud back in April.

33-year-old Michaelynn G. Christy was also ordered to serve four days in jail with credit for time served and was fined $500.

The Attorney General’s Office reported Christy admitted to providing a false statement to an insurance company. An investigation revealed that in March 2015, she’d filed a claim with Esurance for an alleged hit-and-run in the parking lot of a Boise Walmart. However, investigators determined the damage to Christy’s vehicle was not consistent with just one accident or impact. She later admitted to a Department of Insurance investigator that her car was not struck as claimed. Instead, she admitted that she’d driven her car into a carport post and that her brother had backed into her car.

As part of the plea agreement, Christy agreed to pay $1517 in restitution to the Idaho Department of Insurance and $179 to Esurance.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Jessica Cafferty of the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit.