TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office today announced the arrests of a former police officer and two others involved in an insurance fraud scheme in the Tampa area. Jonathan Lance Hobby, 34, a former police officer with the Dade City Police Department from Brooksville, Bruce Dewayne Wilson Jr., 23, of Dade City, and Carl Roach Jr., 52, of Bayonet Point face several charges related to operating a chop shop.
Last year, Hobby contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and filed a report claiming someone stole his 2015 Dodge Ram 1500 truck in Lakeland. Following the report, Hobby’s insurance company paid Hobby’s auto theft claim of more than $24,000. Months later, authorities located the truck at After Hours Diesel Service, a business run by Bruce Dewayne Wilson. According to the FDLE investigation, Wilson and Hobby arranged to falsely report the truck stolen and to sell the parts. Roach, knowing about the fraudulent activity, participated in dismantling the truck.
All three defendants face charges for conspiracy to deal in stolen property, third-degree felony, and operating a chop shop, a third-degree felony. Hobby and Wilson also face charges for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, third-degree felonies. Additionally, Hobby is charged with insurance fraud, a second-degree felony, and filing a false police report, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Attorney General Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will prosecute this case.
