Smashed Lamborghini, insurance fraud charge the latest legal trouble for David ‘Superdave’ Juntunen [Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.]
By David Hanners, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
So tempting, prosecutors allege, that one night last March, the businessman entrusted by a customer to store the sports car over the winter squeezed into its bucket seats with a lady friend and took the car for a very fast spin.
The joyride that
Juntunen, 39, is in jail in lieu of
Juntunen -- who sometimes calls himself "Superdave" -- runs Top Gear Autoworks on
"Top Gear was started by David 'Superdave' Juntunen who has garnered local acclaim as a responsible, experienced and trustworthy automotive specialist," proclaims the company's website, adding "What makes us different? In a word ... ethics."
But
cops in nine
His state record includes convictions for criminal sexual conduct, driving after cancellation (five times), driving while intoxicated (two times), reckless driving and, most recently, fleeing a police officer in 2010.
He's due in court in
In the new criminal complaint, Assistant Hennepin County Attorney
A month later, the man emailed Juntunen and told him that since the cars were in storage, he had suspended their collision insurance.
The first Gallardo rolled off Lamborghini's
It has a top speed of nearly 200 mph and as one online reviewer noted: "This thing is so quick, so fast, so loud, and sounds so angry at full-throttle that it may scare kids, old people, pets, and livestock. But that's just part of its charm."
The complaint says that on the night of
About
The tow truck driver got part of the license plate number.
About 15 minutes later, residents near
What followed was old-fashioned police work, said Lt.
He said there was no telling what speed the sports car was going when it hit the trees, but it was fast.
"I would say the damage to hit the trees, to take down the trees and the light poles and rip the wheel off the car, I would say that would take some velocity," said Goodsell. "For parts like that to be removed, it's hard to say what speed it was going. What does it take to rip a front wheel off a car?"
According to the criminal complaint, Juntunen had the car towed back to his business and didn't report the incident to police. Later that day, he filed a claim with Top Gear's insurer, whose adjustor determined it would cost
Juntunen initially told the insurance company that he'd been driving the car to another Top Gear storage facility, but he apparently later said the car was being driven by DuPont, who had started working at Top Gear a few weeks before the crash, the complaint said.
When police spoke to Juntunen and DuPont, they claimed DuPont had been driving and "swerved to avoid striking an animal and went off the road where the vehicle hit trees and light poles," Scoggin wrote.
The insurance company didn't think their stories added up. The insurer told Juntunen and DuPont that they'd have to give sworn statements about the crash, but neither showed up on the scheduled date.
The insurer refused to pay the claim.
Scoggin said that on
The owner asked him why he wouldn't go back to the insurer and ask them to pay for the damage, and "Juntunen said, 'If I ask them to pay based on the statements I gave, I'm going to prison. It's insurance fraud,' " Scoggin wrote.
The owner had only storage insurance on the vehicle and, as Scoggin noted, "To date, the damaged Lamborghini has not been repaired."
The criminal complaint notes that because of Juntunen's driving-related convictions, "any vehicle he operates is required to be equipped with ignition interlock."
The insurance fraud claim against both alleges that they conspired to defraud the insurance company by lying about the crash and concealing facts about it. The maximum sentence for insurance fraud is 20 years in prison and a
The second count each faces accuses them of taking the car without the owner's consent. That crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a
___
(c)2013 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)
Visit the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) at www.twincities.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Wordcount: | 1131 |
Health Insurance Mandate Sets Dangerous Precedent
TASC’s Claim ConneX Adds Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News