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 | HEAT̉ TIP HELPS MICHIGAN STATE POLICE BUST INSURANCE FRAUD PERPETRATOR IN WESTERN WAYNE COUNTY Windsor Man’s Attempt To Get Away With A False Insurance Claim Is Revealed ROMULUS, MI – (25 February 2000) Car payments can be expensive, but that’s no excuse for this Windsor man who decided to drive his 1998 Ford Contour over the border and leave it stranded in Detroit Metro Airport’s parking lot. Fortunately, another Windsor resident contacted the HEAT® (Help Eliminate Auto Thefts) confidential, tip reward line: 1-800-242-HEAT and provided the Michigan State Police Western Wayne Auto Theft Unit with details of the insurance fraud and the whereabouts of the vehicle. The police quickly recovered the vehicle and charged the owner with making a false report of a felony. The owner of the vehicle will have to answer to this charge and for the caller’s invaluable information, HEAT® issued the tipster a $950 reward. "The suspect tried to get away with leaving his car on the wrong side of the border. Fortunately for us the HEAT® program exists and we were able to find the suspect and press charges," says Lt. Bill Darnell of the Michigan State Police Western Wayne Auto Theft Unit. "Insurance fraud is a problem that plagues Michigan, so this type of story is one we hear all too often," says Terri Miller, HEAT Program director. "Because insurance fraud by its nature often remains below the surface, we need more people to step forward and report what they know in order to continue our fight against this type of crime." The HEAT® tip reward line (1-800-242 HEAT) is a prime example of how citizen action can coordinate with law enforcement to fight auto theft crimes statewide and across the border. Citizens who have any information regarding auto theft, carjacking, auto theft related insurance fraud and chop shops have been reporting their "tips" to the confidential, toll free HEAT® tip line for the past 15 years. Thanks to the hard work of police agencies like the Michigan State Police Western Wayne Auto Theft Unit, and the support of the HEAT® Program, auto theft in Wayne County decreased 12% in 1998. HEAT® tip callers are rewarded up to $1,000 if their tips lead to the arrest and prosecution of a suspected car thief or auto theft related insurance fraud. Up to $10,000 is rewarded if the tip results in the arrest and binding over for trial of suspected theft ring members and/or chop shop operators. HEAT® also awards $2,000 for information leading to the issuance of a warrant for a carjacking suspect. Since its inception in 1985, HEAT® has awarded more than $2 million to tip callers. During that period, the HEAT® tip line has received 6,139 calls leading to the arrest of 2,311 suspects and the recovery of 2,815 vehicles estimated at almost $32 million. In 1999, the program made a resounding impact on Michigan’s fight against auto thefts. Last year, the hotline received more than 400 tips that lead to the arrest of 154 suspects and the recovery of more than $2 million in stolen property.
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