Six Years After Crime, North Iowa Man Gets Suspended Sentence, Probation for Insurance Fraud
Almost six years after he committed the crime, a north Iowa man has received a suspended sentence for staging a fake auto accident in an attempt to collect $70,000 in insurance money.
39-year-old Zachary Robbins of Rockwell and another individual were accused of faking a motor vehicle collision about 15 miles northeast of Osage in March 2019. Law enforcement says the two vehicles were intentionally crashed together, with Robbins then setting his vehicle on fire and creating an explosion that destroyed the vehicle and everything inside.
Investigators say Robbins lied to Mitchell County authorities and an insurance company in an attempt to get a payout of more than $70,000.
Robbins was charged with first-degree arson, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison; insurance fraud by presenting false information, a Class D felony; as well as making a false report of an indictable offense to a public entity, a serious misdemeanor.
In a plea agreement, Robbins has pleaded guilty to one count of insurance fraud by presenting false information, with all the other charges being dismissed. On Tuesday (01.13) in Mitchell County District Court, Judge Rustin Davenport sentenced Robbins to five years in prison, with the sentence suspended, and placed him on three years probation.
