Investigation of Cell Phone Records Lead to Insurance Fraud Charge
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FAIRBANKS – A family of three is facing felony insurance fraud charges after an investigation of their cellphone records concluded they lied to their insurance company about a North Pole vehicle crash that occurred in July 2009.
Marlon A. Conklin, now 26, and his parents, Marlon K. Conklin and Deborah S. Conklin, all told a State Farm claims agent that a Ford F-150 truck owned by the younger Conklin was stolen, according to a criminal complaint written by state insurance investigator Alex Romero. They said they did not know how the vehicle came to be found empty and crashed into a light pole, according to the complaint.
In 2010, Romero received a search warrant for the family’s cellphone records. Based on which cellphone towers the cellphones used, the records show the younger Conklin did not go home after going out to dinner with his father the night of the crash, as he told the insurance company. Instead, they show he was in the general area of the Silver Spur Nightclub and was calling his parents about 2:30 a.m.
when the crash was reported. An employee of the Silver Spur told the State Farm agent that a woman who fits Deborah Conklin’s description drove to the crash site looking for her son and said the truck belonged to her son.
All three defendants were charged Aug. 29 with fraudulent or criminal insurance acts, a felony. No court dates have been set, and none of the defendants was in state custody Tuesday night, according to a Fairbanks Correctional Center booking officer.
Contact staff writer Sam Friedman at 459-7545. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMcrime.
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – Family members face insurance fraud charges in North Pole crash
