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The key prosecution witness in the Houghtaling family insurance fraud case finally took the stand Thursday, detailing an alleged scam to crash a rental truck into one of their homes to claim enough insurance money to renovate the kitchen.
"Donna didn't like the kitchen," said Cook, a family friend who was a charged defendant in the case. "And Joe wanted to get his money back and make a healthy profit."
"We decided to hit the garage instead of the house because you'd get just as much and it was easier to get at," Cook went on. "It all started out with me and Joe doing the basic plan. Then he talked to his parents, his wife, her sister, his brother and sister. We all decided who was going to be the driver and how much the damage would be."
Then, Cook said, Donna Houghtaling began cruising Salvation Army drop-off sites on Sunday nights, knowing the bags of clothes, toys, furniture, appliances and other items wouldn't be brought inside until Monday morning.
She took what she wanted and then stored it in the garage to be claimed as damaged goods after the collision, he said. Cook said Warner also started carting over valuables to the garage as did he and Joe Houghtaling, including some broken TVs behind a repair shop.
When the day came, Cook said he backed the truck into one side of the attached garage. But, Joe, who was unsatisfied with the impact, hopped behind the wheel and hit it again himself, on the other side.
After the crash, he said Joe submitted a bid to the insurance carrier, through his maintenance company, JMS Services, to be paid to dismantle the wrecked garage that was owned by his relatives.
Source
"Donna didn't like the kitchen," said Cook, a family friend who was a charged defendant in the case. "And Joe wanted to get his money back and make a healthy profit."
"We decided to hit the garage instead of the house because you'd get just as much and it was easier to get at," Cook went on. "It all started out with me and Joe doing the basic plan. Then he talked to his parents, his wife, her sister, his brother and sister. We all decided who was going to be the driver and how much the damage would be."
Then, Cook said, Donna Houghtaling began cruising Salvation Army drop-off sites on Sunday nights, knowing the bags of clothes, toys, furniture, appliances and other items wouldn't be brought inside until Monday morning.
She took what she wanted and then stored it in the garage to be claimed as damaged goods after the collision, he said. Cook said Warner also started carting over valuables to the garage as did he and Joe Houghtaling, including some broken TVs behind a repair shop.
When the day came, Cook said he backed the truck into one side of the attached garage. But, Joe, who was unsatisfied with the impact, hopped behind the wheel and hit it again himself, on the other side.
After the crash, he said Joe submitted a bid to the insurance carrier, through his maintenance company, JMS Services, to be paid to dismantle the wrecked garage that was owned by his relatives.
Source
