Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

A Chicago police officer is in a lot of trouble after being charged with involvement in an auto insurance scam. Gregory Garibay, 44, was an 18-year veteran of the force when he was charged.

CHICAGO, IL (Catholic Online) - Garibay was charged with seven counts of mail fraud, two counts of attempted extortion, and falsifying a police report.

According to his indictment, an late 2007 and early 2008, Garibay was stung during an FBI operation seeking to weed out police and two truck drivers involved in insurance scams.

Garibay colluded with a tow truck driver to stage an accident then file a false report claiming the driver with better insurance was at fault, to obtain a larger payout. The scam netted Garibay a princely cut of $200.

He did better on a second scam earning $2,000.

However, the FBI became aware of the scheme and investigated.

Garibay has lost his job and the federal grand jury is also seeking the forfeiture of the $2,200. It is unclear if he will face any jail time.

© 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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