OLYMPIA – Brittany Jones and Steven Jones of Marysville each were charged with one count of filing a false insurance claim in Snohomish County Superior Court on May 14. The charges stem from an auto insurance claim and follow an investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit.

According to the investigation, the Joneses, a married couple, added a 2011 Ford Escape to their GEICO insurance policy at 6:08 a.m. June 18. They filed a claim for damage to the vehicle totaling $11,273 resulting from a collision that they said happened 20 minutes after they bought the policy.

GEICO found records indicating the car was towed from the collision scene at 5 a.m. that same day. GEICO denied the claim and referred the case to Kreidler’s detectives. Kreidler’s CIU investigates insurance fraud and works with the Washington State Patrol and state and local prosecutors on criminal cases. Insurance fraud costs the average family $400 to $700 per year in increased premiums. Insurance companies are required by law to report fraud to the commissioner. Consumers can report suspected insurance fraud on the insurance commissioner’s website.