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A Pomona woman was arrested this week in connection with an auto insurance scam that apparently unraveled when she was outsmarted by her own car.
Prosecutors say Elva Padilla hid her new Ford Focus at her brother's house in Victorville and then falsely reported it stolen to police and her insurance company.
But it seems the 53-year-old housekeeper failed to consider a major flaw in her plan: The high-tech auto was equipped with a LoJack tracking device.
A San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy latched on to the car's electronic homing signal and traced the not-so-stolen compact to the High Desert within a day.
"These things are normally more well-planned than this," said Ed Nyberg, an auto insurance fraud investigator from the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.
Nyberg said Padilla reported the car stolen in November 2005.
The case was investigated for more than a year. Charges were filed in January, and Padilla surrendered on Thursday immediately after she was notified she had an outstanding arrest warrant.
Her bail was set at $10,000.
Nyberg said the woman, who has no criminal history, has cooperated with the investigation.
It appears she regretted buying the car and was desperate to get rid of it, Nyberg said.
"And this was the only way she could think of," he said.
The plan likely would have worked if not for the LoJack, he said.
The woman's brother was unaware of the alleged scheme and is not facing any legal trouble.
