Insurance scam leader gets 5 years' probation

Although he had jumped bail in 1993, the reputed mastermind of a bi-state auto insurance fraud ring involving 21 other conspirators has been given five years probation.

Defense attorney Donald Green said Romar Bilog's sentence is the same penalty the others received for their roles in the scam, although the 38-year-old defendant could have been sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.

As part of his probation, Bilog will have to repay $60,000 he bilked from insurance companies for bogus accidents in California, obtain counseling and immediately report any motor vehicle accidents.

If Bilog fails probation, District Judge Kathy Hardcastle said he will have to spend up to eight years in prison.

Bilog pleaded guilty Dec. 7 to two felony counts of insurance fraud in the scheme that Deputy Attorney General Gregory Hojnowski said involved recruiting Las Vegans to claim they were involved in accidents in California.

Phony claims for about $400,000 were made to insurance companies, primarily Allstate Insurance and the California State Automobile Association.

Hojnowski said the recruits were told how to create the "accident" damage to their vehicles by running into parking lot poles and then reporting that they had rear-ended cars that, ironically, always carried four passengers. In turn, those victims, often illegal aliens, were told how to fake injuries and make claims, the prosecutor added.

Scripts were given to the participants to ensure the details were consistent.

The drivers primarily were recruited at the Gold Coast hotel-casino, but the accidents were staged in Southern California, where the personal injury lawsuits were filed.

The ring came crashing down when law enforcement agents acting undercover managed to infiltrate the group, posing as drivers willing to claim they were responsible for accidents in exchange for a cut of the profits.

Participating in the undercover operation were officers from the state attorney general's office, Metro Police, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Hojnowski said the officers tape recorded their conversations with Bilog, but the primary evidence came from Bilog's own records, which he kept in a computer notebook.

The notebook contained information on each driver and victim and also listed contacts at insurance companies.

The prosecutor said that Bilog apparently fled to the Chicago area after jumping bail in 1993 but wasn't tracked down until late this summer.

The Filipino national was also convicted during that time of federal charges of submitting false documents to obtain citizenship.

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