Two Aztec residents accused of staging burglary, falsifying $85,000 insurance claim

• Dathan Mobley, 41, and Emma Hossy, 31, both face a second-degree felony count of false applications for insurance claims (over $20,000) and a third-degree felony count of conspiracy to commit of false applications for insurance claims.
• The investigation was launched on Nov. 1, when Aztec police responded to a reported residential burglary in the 1700 block of Elm Street.
• Hossy and Mobley’s preliminary hearings are set for May in Aztec Magistrate Court.

FARMINGTON — Two Aztec residents are accused of trying to defraud an insurance company for more than $85,000 by allegedly filing a false insurance claim.

The defendants are accused of generating false invoices and false receipts and claiming items were stolen — items that were later found by police.

Dathan Mobley, 41, and Emma Hossy, 31, each face a second-degree felony count of false applications for insurance claims (over $20,000) and a third-degree felony count of conspiracy to commit false applications for insurance claims, according to court records.

More:Farmington Police Department blotter for April 17, 2021

Shane Goranson, Mobley’s attorney, and John Beckstead, Hossy’s attorney, did not respond to requests for comment.

Documents from the Aztec Police Department investigation were filed on April 8 in Aztec Magistrate Court.

The investigation was launched on Nov. 1, when Aztec police responded to a reported residential burglary in the 1700 block of Elm Street.

Hossy contacted dispatch to state she could see via internet-connected video cameras a bedroom appeared to be burglarized.

Items appeared to be thrown around the bedroom and a desktop computer appeared to be gone.

Hossy emailed a list of stolen items that day to Aztec police.

The list included a stamp collection, a DVD/Blu-ray collection and a sports card collection, two crossbows, power tools, an Apple laptop computer, 12 watches, two TVs and a coin collection worth about $25,000 to $35,000, according to court documents.

The Aztec police worked the burglary case but, over time, both defendants are accused of providing multiple inconsistent statements about the incident and failing to provide evidence, including video footage from cameras inside the residence, according to court documents.

More:Woman allegedly smoked meth, stole truck, backed into a police vehicle

Members of the Region 11 Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant on the residence on Dec. 7, arresting the two on active arrest warrants in separate cases.

Mobley was later accused of multiple drug trafficking charges in a separate case, according to court records.

The drug task force asked Aztec police if they had any recent burglary cases as they found numerous items that appeared to be stolen.

The affidavit states a majority of the items reported stolen were found in Mobley’s residence on Dec. 7.

Court documents in the alleged fraud case did not detail which items were found by the narcotics task force.

An Aztec detective interviewed both defendants while they were being held at the San Juan County Adult Detention Center on Dec. 8 and 9.

The detective wrote Hossy and Mobley continued to provide inconsistence statements about the burglary.

At one point, Hossy told the detective her parents filed a false insurance claim after a robbery and said it wasn’t a big deal.

More:Man accused of shooting at occupied vehicle behind Bloomfield grocery store

On Dec. 28, Aztec police learned Mobley allegedly bragged about staging a burglary at his residence and he was going to get paid by insurance.

The detective learned from the Lemonade insurance company Mobley’s insurance claim for $85,719 was denied.

The affidavit cited portions of Lemonade’s denial letter to Mobley.

“Based on our investigation, you’ve made false statements relating to your claim and provided invalid documentation to substantiate your loss,” according to the affidavit.

Lemonade listed several reasons for the denial including that multiple photos of alleged stolen property were taken on Nov. 3, two days after the burglary, and multiple fake invoices were generated using a website.

The insurance company also said multiple receipts Mobley filed appeared to come from a fake receipt website.

Both defendants were arrested in the case on April 9 and were released on April 12.

Hossy and Mobley’s preliminary hearings are set for May in Aztec Magistrate Court.

Joshua Kellogg covers breaking news for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.

Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e