Twin Falls man sentenced for attempted insurance scam

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - A Twin Falls man has been sentenced for attempting a “crash and buy” insurance scam.

The Idaho Department of Insurance says Riley Presher of Twin Falls purchase insurance on December 15, 2017, and filed a claim for an accident he said he had on the same day.

Insurance department investigators interviewed the man.  He admitted to investigators he did not have insurance when the accident happened on December 14, when he backed his truck into a friend’s vehicle.

On August 31, 2018, Presher admitted to misrepresenting the claim to Sentry Insurance and pleaded guilty in court to insurance fraud in May 2020.

“Insurance fraud costs the average American family between $400 and $700 every year in the form of increased insurance premiums,” said Director Dean Cameron.  “I am proud of our Investigations Division for their hard work and diligence in following up with this case.”

Fifth District Judge Rosemary Emory sentenced Presher Monday to a unified sentence of five years in prison. She suspended the sentence and placed him on five years of supervised probation.

Presher was ordered by the court to serve 120 days of jail time with options and 150 hours of community service.  In addition to the 150 hours of community service, Judge Emory gave Mr. Presher the option of serving an additional 150 hours community service in lieu of the 120 days jail time in consideration of the Covid-19 situation. 

He will also have to pay a $750 fine, court costs, $1,260 in restitution to the Department of Insurance and $1,943 to Sentry Insurance.