Florence man pleads guilty to targeting elderly drivers for fraudulent insurance payout

FLORENCE, S.C. (WPDE) — A Florence Man is set to spend the next eighteen months in the South Carolina Dept. of Corrections Center after pleading guilty to targeting elderly drivers, according to the South Carolina Dept. of Insurance (SCDOI).

Cornelius Jones, 44 presented false claims for insurance payments in 15 different incidents from 2020 to 2022, the SCDOI said.

The release said Jones would target elderly drivers in business parking lots by either driving or walking into the back of the victims’ cars as they were pulling out of parking spaces. He would then reportedly pretend to be injured to receive an undeserved insurance payout or to directly extort cash from the victims, SCDOI said.

Jones received $14,210 from insurance payments while causing an additional $1,773 in damages to victims' cars. In turn, he now has to pay out $15,983.04 in compensation to his victims.

Click for full article.