2nd suspect in Hialeah insurance fraud scheme turns self in

HIALEAH, Fla. – The second of four people accused in a Hialeah auto insurance fraud scheme has turned himself into police, according to an arrest report.

Yander Sanchez, 26, who is accused of being involved in at least one staged crash, surrendered to Hialeah police Wednesday afternoon with his attorney’s direction, the report said.

The police already arrested Marlon Aldecoa (22) from Northwest Miami-Dade on Monday.

Two other suspects, Dalin De La Torre, 21, and Yalema Gonzalez, 47, remained at large at the time of Sanchez’s arrest, according to the arrest report.

Like Aldecoa, Sanchez faced charges of organized scheme to defraud, faking an accident and submitting fraudulent insurance claims.

According to a police report, police were first made aware of the scheme on Sept. 22, when an insurance investigator shared his suspicions about a July 7 accident in Hialeah where Aldecoa claimed to have been injured.

Sanchez, Aldecoa’s passenger, also claimed to have been injured, racking up more than $16,000 in medical claims in July and August, police said.

The report states that Aldecoa filed a claim for an identical accident on September 30, 2021.

An insurance investigator told officers that repair claims totaling $632.37 had been paid to Aldecoa.

Police said during the July 7 “accident,” body camera footage allegedly showed fresh rear bumper damage on Aldecoa’s car.

But according to police, footage from mobile license plate readers revealed that Aldecoa had been driving around the city with the same rear bumper damage since September 30, 2021.

Police said the four defrauded insurance companies to the tune of $53,000 during the scheme.

According to police, Gonzalez was allegedly involved in seven car accidents dating back to 2007, all of which involved insurance claims. At least one, in 2015, was determined to be staged and an insurance company would also not pay for a Feb. 2021 accident paid.

Police wrote that Aldecoa “admitted in part that he had not repaired his vehicle prior to (the July) accident and then claimed that more damage had been done.”

That was “not true based on photos and evidence collected,” the report said.

Police took Sanchez, who did not speak to officers, to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he was being held on a $25,000 bond.

He bonded out on Thursday morning.