County District Attorney’s Office. The 31-thousand dollar grant, awarded by the State Insurance Commissioner, focuses on auto theft and auto insurance fraud. D-A Cliff Newell says they’ll be able to handle the increasing number of local cases that the Commissioner’s Office has referred back to his office, due to lack of staffing…

click to listen to Cliff Newell

Newell says the grant will cover the hiring of a full-time, dedicated county investigator and a part-time Deputy District Attorney. In the last three years, he says the Insurance Commission has been unable to investigate 45 local cases, which include staged accidents, as well as chop shops, where stolen vehicle parts are processed for selling..

click to listen to Cliff Newell

Nevada County has also recently been awarded grants to hire local investigators for workers compensation and welfare fraud. Newell says in the past year, these specialized investigations and prosecutions have saved taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.