Burien auto glass company busted in $1.6 million insurance fraud

The owner of a Burien auto glass company has pleaded guilty to a longtime scam believed to have cost insurers more than $1.6 million, the state Insurance Commissioner's office said Thursday.

Michael Alan Perkins was sentenced to nine months in jail, after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree theft in King County. Perkins owned Autoglass Express and Premier Auto Glass, which were based in his home.

Officials said the companies had overbilled insurers 4,840 times for high-priced glass installations, when they had really installed cheaper "aftermarket" glass.

"Insurance fraud drives up the cost of insurance for everyone," Insurance Commisserion Mike Kreidler said in a statement.

"And in this case, the overbilling went on for years."

Kreidler's investigators found that the scam went on from from 2005 to 2009. In some cases, the companies billed for full-priced car windows that had actually come from wrecking yards.

In one case, Perkins billed an insurer more than $1,000 for a Toyota windshield that had cost only $92, the state said. Another inflated bill included $1,167 for a Lexus windshield that had cost only $56.

Perkins, 44, was caught when a third-party company that handles glass claims noticed he was installing an unsually high rate of higher-priced "Original Equipment Manufactuer" windows.

The company tipped off State Farm. The insurer then began inspecting recently installed glass and looking at the bills.

An upcoming hearing will determine what restitution Perkins will pay. Of his nine month sentence, 30 days was converted to 240 hours of community service.