Idaho man must pay more than $12,000 after creating fake lease while living with ex-wife

A man this week was ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution and serve eight days in jail after he pleaded guilty to insurance fraud.

Todd A. Young, 57, was living with his ex-wife in Nampa after his cabin in Cascade burned down in 2016. As part of his 2014 divorce settlement, Idaho Statesman reports he had a right to live in her home rent-free until June 2017.

Young’s insurance policy on the cabin compensated him for rent until he found permanent housing, according to a release from the Idaho Department of Insurance, and he filed a claim with Farmers Insurance Company.

He created a fictitious lease for the home he was living in rent-free — without his ex-wife’s knowledge — that said he was charged $2,000 monthly for rent, according to the release. The insurance company paid that for six months, totaling $12,000.

Young later admitted to a Department of Insurance investigator that he had pocketed the money instead of using it for rent.

“A fraudulent claim may not seem like a big deal on the surface, but according to FBI estimates, insurance fraud costs the average American family between $400 and $700 per year in the form of insurance premiums,” Dean Cameron, director of the Department of Insurance, said in the release.

Young pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced Wednesday.

The court withheld judgment and put Young on supervised probation for three years. He must pay court costs and will have to serve his eight days by Nov. 30. He must also pay back Framers Insurance Company $12,000, along with $345.82 to the Department of Insurance, according to the release. He will have 90 days of jail time suspended under the discretion of his probation officer.