A Los Angeles Unified school police officer accused of faking his own shooting that triggered a massive manhunt in the West Valley in January was indicted today by a grand jury on six counts.
Jeff Stenroos, 30, pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of insurance fraud, workers'
compensation fraud, preparing a false police report, preparing false documentary evidence and planting false evidence. He is also charged with one misdemeanor count of falsely reporting an emergency.
The indictment, returned by a grand jury on Thursday and unsealed today, added insurance fraud and planting evidence to the charges leveled against Stenroos in March, but dropped one count of
perjury.
The city is seeking $361,289 in restitution for the 10-hour manhunt that sent more than 550 officers pouring into an eight square-mile area of the San Fernando Valley with dogs, assault weapons and helicopters.
LAUSD is also seeking $58,000 in medical costs incurred after Stenroos was treated and released from Northridge Medical Center the day of the alleged fraud. He also checked into Henry Mayo Hospital in Santa Clarita the next weekend after complaining of ongoing pain.
He was charged withinsurance fraud because he sought treatment for injuries he never sustained.
The district is still calculating total costs for keeping 9,000 students in lockdown at nine campuses that included El Camino Real High School and Hale Middle School.
Stenroos, of Santa Clarita, said he had been shot in the chest by a car burglar while he was on duty at El Camino Real High School in West Hills on Jan. 19. A Good Samaritan spotted Stenroos lying on the ground next to his patrol car and used its radio to call for help.
Stenroos, an eight year veteran of the force, reported that the burglar had escaped on foot, prompting law enforcement to lock down the schools late into the evening and close streets to local residents.
LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division later determined there was no shooting at the school and that Stenroos had made up the evidence.
The indictment eliminates the need for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence for Stenroos to stand trial.
Stenroos is on paid administrative leave from the district.
He is scheduled to return to Van Nuys Superior Court on May 18. If convicted, he faces up to five years, eight months in state prison.
Insurance Fraud Penalties
Insurance fraud accounts for billions of dollars in lost taxpayer dollars and results in increasingly high insurance rates for everyone. The penalties for insurance fraud charges are significant and are typically stepped to reflect the seriousness of the fraudulent claim as well as the number of claims made in the particular charge. Each different insurance fraud will be treated as a separate count or charge, so rings that have operated several scams often have hefty penalties even on a first arrest.
Possible Penalties
- Jail time
- Significant fines
- Probation
- Parole
- Restitution
- Community service
If you or someone you know is being charged with any type of fraud, you need a skilled and experienced criminal defense attorney to fight on your behalf.
At Hedding Law Firm we will aggressively and diligently fight on your behalf.
Contact us for a FREE face to face consultation.