Former LAPD reserve officer and his brother charged with insurance fraud over Bentley crash
A former Los Angeles Police Department reserve officer and his brother have been charged with insurance fraud after prosecutors say they misrepresented details in a more than $200,000 insurance claim related to a Bentley crash in January 2023.
Eric Benjamin 'Ben' Halem, 37, a former full-time LAPD officer and ex-reserve officer, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of insurance fraud on Friday. His brother Jacob Halem, 32, also pleaded not guilty to a count of insurance fraud, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
Eric Halem's car rental company, Drive LA, boasts a fleet of rare, luxury vehicles, including a 2020 Bentley Continental GT. The California Department of Insurance said in a news release on Friday that Eric Halem told his insurance company that his brother had borrowed the vehicle and crashed it on Jan. 5, 2023.
But the department's investigation revealed that the Bentley had been rented by a Drive LA client and that the renter crashed the vehicle three days before the brothers claimed Jacob crashed it.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to the accident scene involving the rental driver and documented the vehicle's damage with body camera footage, the insurance department said in its release.
After the rental driver's insurance claim was denied because of a lack of proper coverage, Eric Halem filed a fraudulent claim with his insurance company on his personal policy, misrepresenting details of the accident, authorities allege.
An attorney representing Jacob Halem did not immediately return a request for comment. It is not clear if Eric Halem has an attorney.
The department of insurance alleges that Eric Halem claimed his brother had been driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, which they said was on Jan. 5, 2023. They submitted what the department called 'staged photographs' of the damaged Bentley on a tow truck.
Insurance department investigators said the damage in the photos the brothers submitted was identical to the damage captured on body camera footage from the renter's crash three days earlier.
Authorities allege Jacob Halem provided a false statement to the insurance company investigator to corroborate his brother's claim.
It isn't clear if the insurance company paid for the car to be fixed. The department of insurance said the 'total potential loss' from the claim was $229,283.
Eric Halem was removed as a reserve officer with LAPD in March, according to a department spokesperson.
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A reserve officer from the Los Angeles Police Department and his brother face insurance fraud charges after they allegedly staged photos of a crash for a false claim. The alleged scheme started on Jan. 2, 2023, after a customer of reserve officer Eric "Ben" Halem's exotic rental company crashed a Bentley Continental GT. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department responded to the collision and used their body cameras to document the damage before impounding the luxury car. The renter filed a claim with their insurance provider, but it was denied, according to the California Department of Insurance. After learning about the denial, Eric Halem allegedly filed a claim under his personal policy and told adjusters that his brother Jacob Halem had crashed the Bentley on Jan. 5, 2023. Former LAPD officer and current reserve officer Eric "Ben" Halem, 37, was charged with insurance fraud after allegedly staging photos of a crash. CA Department of Insurance Investigators said the brothers staged photos of the damaged luxury car on a tow truck near the alleged crash site. The Department of Insurance added that Jacob Halem allegedly filed a false statement with investigators. After receiving the claim, the provider realized that Eric Halem had contacted them twice to obtain proof of insurance to release the damaged Bentley from the impound lot. They compared the deputies' bodycam footage to the Halem brothers' photos and determined the damage to the luxury car was identical, according to the Department of Insurance.
