CALIFORNIA MAN WHO HID CAR IN ORANGE COUNTY ARRESTED

Failing to pay rental charges for a storage unit that he used to hide his car Thursday led to the arrest of a California man who fraudulently collected $19,000 on an insurance claim, the New York State Insurance Department reported.

Adam Rotger, 33, of San Francisco, was arrested as the result of an investigation begun in January after the owner of an Orange County, New York storage facility found a 2002 Acura Integra inside a unit Rotger rented. The storage unit was opened after Rotger failed to continue making payments for the facility he rented for more than four years.

The storage facility owner contacted Town of Woodbury police who traced the vehicle to Rotger. Police found that Rotger had reported the car stolen in July 2004 and was paid $19,000 for the loss by the Progressive Insurance Company.

Investigator David J. Towne of the Insurance Department's Frauds Bureau said investigators believe Rotger tried to burn the car before putting it into storage because they found charring near the gas cap.

Rotger lived and worked in Orange County before moving to California.

Rotger was arrested by Woodbury police and remanded to Orange County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or a $30,000 bond. He was charged with arson, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, insurance fraud, falsifying business records and offering a false instrument for filing.

If convicted, Rotger could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison. He is scheduled to appear for a hearing in Orange County Court June 4.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Karen Edelman-Reyes.