Bride jailed for $30k wedding scam. Photo / California Department of Insurance
Bride jailed for $30k wedding scam. Photo / California Department of Insurance
A bride has been sentenced to five years behind bars after filing two dodgy insurance claims.
Vermyttya Miller, a 37-year-old actress from California, had booked her wedding reception through an online wedding site, The Knot in October 2016.
The venue had come with a $US10,000 ($NZ15,200) insurance fee for eventcancellation or postponement.
But not long after booking, Miller filed an insurance claim, alleging she tripped on her wedding dress and had to cancel the reception because of her injuries news.com.au reported.
According to a statement from the California Department of Insurance, Miller supported her cancellation claim with medical reports and was reimbursed $NZ15,200.
But two months later on December 4, Miller emailed The Knot's insurer to report her check had been stolen, providing a police report she had allegedly filed with the Vallejo Police Department in Northern California.
However, it was revealed both her medical documents and the police report were forged.
According to the Insurance Department's statement, Miller had actually doctored a previously submitted police report for a different incident that occurred years earlier.
"Miller's trail of fraudulent claims led straight to a five-year jail sentence after department detectives unravelled her scheme," said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
After claiming the Vallejo police were investigating her "stolen" cheque, the venue's insurer referred the claim to the Department of Insurance for investigation.
Detectives uncovered evidence that Miller falsified the medical reports of her injury, which she used to file the original claim.
After booking through an online wedding website, she claimed to have tripped on her wedding dress and due to injuries needed to cancel the venue where she was issued S10,000. Photo / California Department of Insurance
They also discovered Facebook photos that showed she had also had multiple weddings and a wedding reception.
Miller was slapped with a $US22,500 ($NZ34,000) fine – $US10,000 ($NZ15,200) for the cancellation fee and $12,500 ($NZ19,000) for investigative costs.
MILLER: 'I WANT ALL MY SUPPORTERS TO PRAY FOR ME'
Just before beginning her sentence on December 4, three years since she reported her check missing, Miller took to her Facebook asking her supporters and family to pray for her.
"Today is my last day free. Tomorrow I start my 5 year sentence but I will only do half," she wrote alongside a collage of photos of herself.
"I want all my supporter and family to pray for me and my family. I am sad I have to go but I will knock it out and come out better and start from where I left off with filming, music and the businesses I was starting."
She asked her followers not be sad for her as God has a "bigger plan for me".
"My plan in place will be to show my life through film to motivate others and show the timeline from making mistakes to changing my life, yet a previous record will always haunt you no matter what you do," she said.
