A New Jersey body shop owner operating in South Philadelphia pleaded guilty to insurance fraud totaling $300,000, the Daily Times reported. In all, Phillip Sessa, owner of Philly Collision, pleaded guilty to corruption organization, insurance fraud, conspiracy, theft by deception, receiving stolen property and criminal use of a communications facility.
The charges carry a total maximum penalty of 62 years in prison and $115,000 in fines. Police dubbed the operation the "Little Body Shop of Horrors."
Sessa and others staged 22 claims worth more than $300,000 in theft and attempted thefts between July 2008 and June 2009, the Daily Times reported. Sessa’s misdeeds also included phony vehicle theft reports and false or exaggerated estimates by a cooperating insurance adjuster.
Police said Sessa and his associates used the proceeds to pay off gambling debts and car loans.
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