wanted<\/a> by Cumru Township police on charges of theft by deception, receiving stolen property and bad checks. Valenzuela also could not be located and was added to the Berks County sheriff\u2019s fugitive list last summer.<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-02-20-090340.png\")
Screenshot of the March 25, 2023, \u201cBerks Wanted\u201d features in the Reading Eagle.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 1, nearly a year after charges were filed, Valenzuela was arrested at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Fla., on the Berks warrant, authorities said. She was transported to Pennsylvania for arraignment Feb. 14 in Reading Central Court and committed to Berks County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bail.<\/p>\n
Peralta\u2019s claim<\/p>\n
In June 2023, agents with the attorney general\u2019s office interviewed Peralta about the Encompass claim. During a subsequent meeting at her attorney\u2019s office, she admitted the crash story was fabricated, investigators said.<\/p>\n
According to investigators:<\/p>\n
Peralta said she went to JFC Auto on Oct. 28, 2022, because her 2010 Chevrolet Equinox was experiencing mechanical problems. She said Montilla-Diaz told her the issues were serious and persuaded her to participate in a staged accident scheme.<\/p>\n
They agreed she would claim to have rear-ended his tow truck while it was hauling the Mercedes and pickup. Peralta said she called in the claim to Encompass from the shop and that Montilla-Diaz later added damage to her vehicle.<\/p>\n
Encompass denied the claim due to inconsistencies.<\/p>\n
Two months later, Montilla-Diaz and Valenzuela filed the duplicate claim with Three Insurance. Investigators said the couple received insurance payouts tied to fraudulent claims.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez\u2019s claim<\/p>\n
Authorities detailed a similar scheme involving Ferdinand Rodriguez of Reading:<\/p>\n
On Sept. 16, 2022, Rodriguez filed a claim with First Acceptance Insurance stating he rear-ended a 2013 Ford Econoline van driven by Valenzuela while operating his Honda Accord. He claimed his car sustained front-end damage and that the van\u2019s rear was damaged. He said police were called but did not respond, and his vehicle was towed to JFC Auto.<\/p>\n
An appraiser noted rear bumper damage to the van consistent with a collision. But Montilla-Diaz later reported additional damage \u2014 including to the right side panel, rear body and rear door \u2014 pushing the total claim to $11,290.<\/p>\n
Because of conflicting accounts, the insurer requested photos of Rodriguez\u2019s Honda. He reported far more extensive damage to his car than appeared on the van. An appraiser determined the damage patterns were inconsistent and concluded the van\u2019s rear door damage could not have been caused by the Honda because of an 18-inch height difference between the vehicles.<\/p>\n
Although First Acceptance determined not all of the van\u2019s damage could have resulted from the reported crash, it issued a $1,102 payment to cover bumper damage it could not rule out.<\/p>\n
About a month later, JFC Auto submitted a supplemental claim, including a $5,800 invoice from a York County salvage yard for parts. When an investigator visited the salvage yard, staff said JFC had not purchased any parts \u2014 the document was only a quote.<\/p>\n
In June 2023, investigators interviewed Rodriguez, who admitted the crash never happened.<\/p>\n
He said Montilla-Diaz approached him in his backyard and offered to damage his car at the shop so he could collect insurance money. Rodriguez said his front bumper had previously been damaged in a hit-and-run for which he never filed a claim and that Valenzuela\u2019s van was parked at her home the day of the purported crash.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez, 33, and Peralta, 41, were each charged with one count of insurance fraud and conspiracy. They were held for court after a preliminary hearing in April and remain free pending a disposition hearing scheduled next month in Berks County Court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In January 2023, Fatima V. Valenzuela of Reading filed an auto insurance claim alleging her husband\u2019s flatbed tow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,202,182,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-139485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Montilla-Diaz.jpg\")
Jonathan Montilla-Diaz<\/p>\n