A 26-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning after allegedly claiming he had $80,000 worth of belongings stolen from his apartment in order to collect the insurance money.
Bloomington Police Department Capt. Ryan Pedigo said police responded around 10:46 p.m. Aug. 9 to a residence on the 1200 block of S. Fenbrook Lane after the man who lived there, Tang Yee, reported his apartment had been burglarized.
Yee told police he had arrived home that night to discover his front window open and his front door unlocked. He told officers he believed the items had been stolen sometime between 1:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. that day. He reported multiple items stolen, Pedigo said, including several pieces of luggage, kitchen appliances, electronics, clothing, jewelry and his cat’s food and water bowls.
Yee was able to provide pictures of all the items stolen because he had purchased a $200,000 renters insurance policy from State Farm in July, Pedigo said. He said Yee estimated the total value of the items to be $50,000, but he later filed a claim with State Farm stating the value of the items was $80,000.
After a BPD detective began investigating the case, Pedigo said he began to notice inconsistencies between what Yee told him and what he had told the officer who had initially arrived on the scene.
Pedigo said the detective interviewed Yee on Aug. 20 at the BPD station. Yee told the detective he had severely embellished the amount of the loss. He said he had been burglarized Aug. 9, but only roughly $1,400 of kitchen appliances had been stolen.
Yee admitted he decided to “test” his new State Farm policy, Pedigo said. He told the detective he packed up his most valuable belongings in several pieces of luggage and a backpack and put them in his car in his apartment's parking lot before calling the police.
Pedigo said Yee told the detective he planned on donating some of the $80,000 and then keeping the rest for himself.
A warrant for Yee’s arrest was issued Oct. 1, according to court documents, but police did not arrest him until early Tuesday morning. Pedigo said officers arrived around 12:16 a.m. at Yee’s apartment and knocked on the door. The officers could see Yee was inside the apartment but was attempting to hide from them. Eventually he opened the door and was arrested.
Yee has been charged with insurance fraud and false informing. He was taken to the Monroe County Correctional Center early Tuesday morning.
