Four Southern California residents have been arraigned in connection with an alleged staged collision scheme that investigators say endangered innocent drivers and led to fraudulent insurance claims worth tens of thousands of dollars.
The defendants were identified by the California Department of Insurance as Jhoiner Rodriguez Celis, 31, of Anaheim; Melissa Cervantes De La Torre, 30, of Upland; Nailer Mendez Diaz, 35, of Anaheim; and Plata Sampayo, 28, of Upland.
According to investigators, the case began after the Upland Police Department alerted the Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force about multiple suspected staged crashes tied to insurance payouts…