Crime & Safety
Elgin Man Must Pay $235,000 Restitution for Faking Slips at Businesses
Juventino Guzman is the "slip-and-fall victim who now must pay back the insurance he collected fraudulently.
An Elgin man has been ordered to spend six months in jail and pay nearly $250,000 in restitution for making fraudulent insurance claims.
Juventino Guzman, 53, of the 500 block of Prospect Street, Elgin, was sentenced late Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, by Circuit Judge John A. Barsanti to four years’ probation, 180 days in the Kane County jail and ordered to pay $235,789.46 in restitution.
Guzman must pay the full restitution amount within five years or face resentencing, which could include a prison term.
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On Nov. 6, 2013, Guzman pleaded guilty to aggravated insurance fraud, a Class 1 felony, and forgery, a Class 3 felony.
Between Nov. 1, 2011, and Jan. 7, 2013, Guzman submitted false insurance claims to three insurance companies. The false claims stated that Guzman had slipped, fallen and was injured at three businesses in Elgin and Carpentersville.
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During the investigation, Guzman admitted to Elgin police that he had faked injuries in an attempt to obtain money from the insurance companies. Also, in April 2009 Guzman submitted to a separate insurance company fraudulent paperwork with a false name and Social Security number claiming another untruthful slip-and-fall incident at an Elgin business.
Guzman admitted to Elgin police that his claims were fraudulent and that he received a settlement of $219,000 in connection with the 2009 false claim.
The sentence is 48 months’ probation for the insurance fraud and 30 months for the forgery. The probation terms are to be served concurrent to one another. The restitution payments to the insurance companies must be made monthly.
According to Illinois law, Guzman is eligible for day-for-day credit. He received credit for one day in the Kane County jail. Guzman must report to court Feb. 21, 2014, to begin serving the jail portion of his sentence.
“Insurance fraud is a major crime that imposes significant financial costs on consumers, businesses, governments and our community as a whole. Mr. Guzman’s fraud contributes to higher insurance premiums for all of us” Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said.
“We thank Elgin Police Det. Brian Gorcowski for his thorough investigation in this case. We also thank Supervisory Special Agent Michael Buchanan of the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Their complete work left no doubt about the extent of Mr. Guzman’s dishonesty,” McMahon said.
The case was prosecuted by Kane County Assistant State’s Attorneys Nick Gaeke and Josh Lloyd.
SOURCE: Kane County State's Attorney's Office
