Upstate New York Woman Admits to Insurance Fraud

A New York woman who was seriously injured after crashing her car into an unoccupied house Upstate New York admitted she lied about the accident to collect insurance to pay for medical expenses and lost wages.

Heidi Laviolette, of Troy, pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and has agreed to pay restitution of $33,000 to Geico.

Laviolette suffered a broken ankle, a fractured rib and a collapsed lung when she crashed her car in November 2008. She obtained no-fault insurance benefits from Geico after claiming she was a passenger when the accident occurred and not the driver. Under most no-fault policies, a person is ineligible for benefits if driving while intoxicated.

Investigators later determined that she was the driver and had been drinking.