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SAN FERNANDO (CNS) - Three Los Angeles men involved in staging auto accidents on local freeways were sentenced to state prison and ordered to pay nearly $344,000 in restitution after pleading no contest to insurance fraud and assault charges.
The case against Victor Valle-Diaz, Eduardo Retana and Ausencio Gomez stemmed from 15 crashes involving 21 victims -- some of whom suffered severe injuries -- between January 2020 and September 2020, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Valle-Diaz, 55, was sentenced to seven years behind bars in connection with his plea to three counts of assault using force likely to produce great bodily injury and one count of insurance fraud, according to Deputy District Attorney Alex Karkanen.
Retana, 25, pleaded no contest to two counts of assault using force likely to produce great bodily injury and one count of insurance fraud. He was sentenced to six years in prison.
Gomez, 46, pleaded no contest to one count each of insurance fraud and assault using force likely to produce great bodily injury. He was sentenced to four years in state prison.
All three defendants admitted an enhancement of more than $100,000 in losses, and were collectively ordered to pay $343,883 in restitution to the insurance companies, the prosecutor said.
Restitution is still pending for the victims, according to Karkanen.
``Purposefully causing automobile collisions can cause grave injuries or even death for the innocent victims of an automobile insurance scheme,'' District Attorney George Gascon said in an Aug. 30 statement announcing the charges.