PSA: If you're going to attempt insurance fraud, you might want to avoid posting on YouTube [w/video]


Insurance Fraud GT-R? – Click above to watch the video after the jump

Why is it that people engaged in illegal activities feel compelled to record their indiscretions? It's just a really, really bad idea. And a bad idea becomes an act of outright stupidity when said video is published on YouTube, where any random investigator can easily find evidence that can be used against the guilty party. This just makes sense, right? Obviously not for everyone.

According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Jay Chen, the 21 year-old owner of a wrecked Nissan GT-R, apparently now knows this lesson all too late, as the accused street racer allegedly crashed his Ivory Godzilla on a Glendora mountain road in California. The SGVT reports that Chen and his sister Tracey gave insurance investigators conflicting testimony after the March, 2009 accident, sending up red flags. Chen later called the insurance company and informed them that he would pay for the damages himself, only to claim another accident three months later on 60 Freeway in Riverside, CA.

Unfortunately for Chen, during the paperwork processing following that 'second' accident, the body shop informed Chen's insurance company that it had been holding on to the mangled GT-R since March. Investigators then searched YouTube for any evidence of the incident, and apparently they believe that they've found it – the insurer alleges that the footage shown after the jump incident shows damage consistent with that of Chen's GT-R after a mountain run with a Mitsubishi Evolution IX MR goes awry. The actual crash doesn't look all that bad, but the apparent $76,000 repair bill shows that near-supercars can cost a boatload of money to fix.

Regardless of the severity of the accident, as a result of the investigation, Chen has officially been charged with six felony counts of insurance fraud, and his sister has been charged with one count. If you are in your late teens or early 20s and you're wondering why you're paying over $300 per month to insure your battered Honda Civic, hit the jump to see why.

[Sources: San Gabriel Valley Tribune, YouTube]

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