Latest news with #Bentley
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
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. Read more: They said a bear attacked their Rolls Royce. But the real culprit was even stranger 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. Read more: A smashed Polaris Slingshot, friends inside the CHP. How investigators unraveled an insurance plot 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. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
LAPD reserve officer, brother charged with insurance fraud in Bentley crash
A reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer and his brother are facing felony charges after they allegedly committed insurance fraud with a Bentley convertible. Eric Benjamin Halem, 37, and his 32-year-old brother Jacob Halem were investigated by the California Department of Insurance, the agency said in a news release. The elder Halem, who serves as a reserve officer for the LAPD but was formerly a full-time officer, is accused of falsely reporting a crash involving a 2020 Bentley Continental GT, officials said. According to CDI officials, Benjamin Halem claimed his brother Jacob was the one driving the luxury vehicle when it was involved in a single-vehicle crash on Jan. 5, 2023. The Bentley, however, had been rented out through Ben Halem's company, Drive LA, which offers exotic car rentals and other services. Drive LA's website shows a Bentley Continental GTC available to be rented for $875 per day. It was during a rental period three days before the reported crash that the damage was actually done, CDI said, and it was the unnamed renter, not Jacob Halem, who was driving at the time. After the driver's insurance claim was denied by their company, Ben Halem 'allegedly filed a fraudulent claim with his insurance company on his personal policy, misrepresenting the accident details,' the release explained. 'He claimed that his brother, Jacob Halem, had been driving the vehicle at the time of the crash. To support their false claim, Eric and Jacob Halem submitted staged photographs of the damaged Bentley on a tow truck near the alleged accident location,' CDI said. Jacob Halem also 'provided a false statement to the insurance company investigator in an effort to corroborate his brother's fraudulent claim,' officials said. Their attempt was unsuccessful, however, as insurance adjusters used body-camera footage from Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies responding to the real crash to demonstrate that the damage to the vehicle was done in the renter's crash on Jan. 2, 2023, not three days later. State officials said the fraud could have cost the insurance company more than $229,000. 'Insurance fraud impacts all Californians by driving up costs for consumers and businesses,' CDI said. 'If you suspect insurance fraud, report it to the California Department of Insurance at 800-927-4357 or visit Jail records show Ben Halem was arrested on March 27 and is free on $50,000 bond. Jacob Halem did not appear in a search of the records. The two men have been arraigned, CDI said, but no court information was available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
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.
Scottish Sun
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Love Island star hits out in ‘fat jab' rant as he shows off ripped physique
Keep scrolling to see what the star had to say 'WEIGHT ROW' Love Island star hits out in 'fat jab' rant as he shows off ripped physique A LOVE Island star has hit out in a 'fat jab' rant as he showed off his ripped physique. Viewers first saw the fitness influencer enter the ITV2 villa back in 2019. 4 A Love Island star has "hit out" in a fat jab rant Credit: instagram 4 Anton Danyluk first appeared on the show in 2019 Credit: ITV 4 The star showed off his ripped physique on Instagram Credit: instagram Anton Danyluk, 30, subsequently returned for Love Island: All Stars last year. Taking to Instagram, the star shared a selection of photos with captions discussing Ozempic. Weight loss jabs have taken the world by storm - having allegedly helped celebrities including Sharon Osbourne, Elon Musk and ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to slim down. Anton penned: "Ozempic will make you fatter than ever before.... "Ozempic suppresses your appetite - but it doesn't teach you how to eat, how to stay consistent or how to keep the weight off. "So the minute you stop? The cravings return. The weight creeps back. And you're right back at square one - or usually worse." He added: "If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need more than a quick fix. "You need a plan that fits your life. One that teaches you how to eat, train, stay on track - and enjoy the process." The ex-islander also shared his thoughts in the post caption, writing: "You don't need another quick fix. "You need to stop falling for the same BS in a different bottle." Love Island's Anton Danyluk reveals staggering 19lbs weight loss in just six weeks Last year, the star opened up about losing £100,000 in the "biggest mistake of his life". During the coronavirus lockdown, Anton controversially followed many other influencers and jetted out to Dubai on 'work' trips. After arriving in the UAE , he splashed out on both an expensive Bentley car and a fancy apartment on the famous Palm. Anton also ploughed £100,000 into a new business venture, which he hoped would make him millions. In his native Scotland, the ex-islander explained in a video: "After Covid, I got invited on an influencer trip to Dubai. "As soon as I got there, I absolutely fell in love with the place - and I never came home. "I bought myself a Bentley, I bought myself an apartment on The Palm and I was absolutely living the dream. "Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there." Anton elaborated how he invested £100,000 in a "gym concept", with plans to open a "nightclub gym". 'Godzilla' of fat jabs Dr Mitra Dutt, a GP from Lloyds Pharmacy Online Doctor, says: 'Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity and work to decrease food intake.' Saxenda, which contains the active ingredient liraglutide, is another weight loss jab that's been available on the NHS since 2020. While Mounjaro is hailed as the "King Kong" fat jabs, a new weight loss drug dubbed "Godzilla" looks set to displace it. Containing the active ingredient retatrutide, slimmers trying the drug lost up to 29 per cent of their weight in less than a year. By comparison, trial results showed semaglutide, known as Ozempic, could lead to 15 per cent weight loss and tirzepatide, aka Mounjaro, to 23 per cent. Retatrutide acts on three different receptors in the brain, 'turbocharging' calorie burning while dulling hunger pangs. Existing weight-loss jabs only suppress appetite, whereas the new treatment also speeds up metabolism. The new drug is still undergoing clinical trials so it's not yet known if it will be made available on the NHS. He said: "Everything that we did went wrong. "It took over a year for us to launch with us putting loads of money into this concept. On top of that, on the day of launch, the place flooded. "Myself and my business partner had massive disagreements and it was just an absolute flop. "This was the first time in my life that I'd made a bad business decision and it cost me massively."
The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Love Island star hits out in ‘fat jab' rant as he shows off ripped physique
A LOVE Island star has hit out in a 'fat jab' rant as he showed off his ripped physique. Viewers first saw the fitness influencer enter the ITV2 villa back in 2019. 4 A Love Island star has "hit out" in a fat jab rant Credit: instagram 4 Anton Danyluk first appeared on the show in 2019 Credit: ITV 4 The star showed off his ripped physique on Instagram Credit: instagram Taking to Instagram, the star shared a selection of photos with captions discussing Ozempic. Weight loss jabs have taken the world by storm - celebrities including Sharon Osbourne , Elon Musk and ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to slim down. Anton penned: "Ozempic will make you fatter than ever before.... Read more on Love Island "Ozempic suppresses your appetite - but it doesn't teach you how to eat, how to stay consistent or how to keep the weight off. "So the minute you stop? The cravings return. The weight creeps back. And you're right back at square one - or usually worse." He added: "If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need more than a quick fix. "You need a plan that fits your life. One that teaches you how to eat, train, stay on track - and enjoy the process." Most read in Love Island The ex-islander also shared his thoughts in the post caption, writing: "You don't need another quick fix. "You need to stop falling for the same BS in a different bottle." Love Island's Anton Danyluk reveals staggering 19lbs weight loss in just six weeks Last year, the star During the coronavirus lockdown, After arriving in the UAE , he splashed out on both an expensive Bentley car and a fancy apartment on the famous Palm. Anton also ploughed £100,000 into a new business venture, which he hoped would make him millions. In his native Scotland , the ex-islander explained in a video: "After Covid, I got invited on an influencer trip to Dubai . "As soon as I got there, I absolutely fell in love with the place - and I never came home. "I bought myself a Bentley , I bought myself an apartment on The Palm and I was absolutely living the dream. "Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there." Anton elaborated how he invested £100,000 in a "gym concept", with plans to open a "nightclub gym". 'Godzilla' of fat jabs Dr Mitra Dutt, a GP from Saxenda, which contains the active ingredient liraglutide, is another weight loss jab that's been available on the NHS since 2020. While Mounjaro is hailed as the "King Kong" fat jabs, a new weight loss drug dubbed "Godzilla" looks set to displace it. Containing the active ingredient retatrutide, slimmers trying the drug lost up to 29 per cent of their weight in less than a year. By comparison, trial results showed semaglutide, known as Ozempic, could lead to 15 per cent weight loss and tirzepatide, aka Mounjaro, to 23 per cent. Retatrutide acts on three different receptors in the brain, 'turbocharging' calorie burning while dulling hunger pangs. Existing weight-loss jabs only suppress appetite, whereas the new treatment also speeds up metabolism. The new drug is still undergoing clinical trials so it's not yet known if it will be made available on the NHS. He said: "Everything that we did went wrong. "It took over a year for us to launch with us putting loads of money into this concept. On top of that, on the day of launch, the place flooded. "Myself and my business partner had massive disagreements and it was just an absolute flop. "This was the first time in my life that I'd made a bad business decision and it cost me massively." 4 Anton returned for Love Island All Stars last year Credit: Rex
