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The former Los Angeles Police Department Reserve Officer and his brother were charged with insurance fraud after prosecutors said they misrepresented details on a $200,000-plus insurance claim related to the January 2023 Bentley crash crash.
Eric Benjamin “Ben” Harlem, 37, a former full-time LAPD officer and former booking officer, pleaded guilty to two felony insurance fraud on Friday. His brother Jacob Harlem, 32, also pleaded not guilty to the insurance fraud count, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Drive LA, Eric Harlem’s car rental company, boasts rare and luxurious vehicles, including the 2020 Bentley Continental GT. The California Department of Insurance told his insurance company in a news release Friday that Eric Harlem told his insurance company that his brother rented the vehicle and crashed it on January 5, 2023.
However, a department investigation revealed that Bentley was rented by a Drive LA client and crashed the vehicle three days before the renter claimed Jacob would crash it.
Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office responded to the accident scene involving a rental driver and documented the vehicle’s damage in camera footage, the Department of Insurance has been released.
After a rental driver’s license claim was denied due to lack of proper coverage, Eric Harlem filed a fraud claim with his personal insurance company, misrepresenting details of the accident, authorities allege.
A lawyer representing Jacob Harlem did not immediately return a request for comment. It is not clear whether Eric Harlem has an attorney.
The Department of Insurance claims Eric Harlem claimed that his brother was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash. They were January 5th, 2023. They submitted what the department called a “stage photo” of a damaged Bentley on a tow truck.
An investigator with the insurance department said the damage to the photographs submitted by the brothers was identical to the damage captured on body camera footage from the tenant’s crash three days ago.
Authorities allege that Jacob Harlem provided false statements to insurer investigators to support his brother’s claims.
The Ministry of Insurance confirmed Friday that the insurance company paid nothing on the claim. The agency said the “total potential loss” from the claim was $229,283.
According to a department spokesperson, Eric Harlem was removed as a reserve officer for the LAPD in March.
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