$160,000 insurance scam nets jail stay for Fred Loya adjuster

A Fred Loya Insurance adjuster who embezzled nearly $160,000 from her employer was ordered to serve probation Monday after showing up to court with a restitution check for $1,000. State District Judge Raymond Angelini ordered Jennifer Jo Marez to be immediately taken into custody. She will stay in jail, as a condition of her probation, for either six months or until she pays the business back in full, he said.
Marez, 35, pleaded no contest last month to second-degree felony theft between $100,000 and $200,000 in exchange for prosecutors’ agreement not to seek a sentence of more than 10 years. She also agreed to permanently surrender her insurance license. She and defense attorney Ron Mata said she needs to be home to take care of her three autistic sons and her disabled husband. Marez apologized for her actions, explaining that she was “desperate” to pay medical bills, household expenses and rents for both her and her husband, from whom she was separated at the time.