A Marin County resident was sentenced October 20 in Superior Court to 180 days in Marin County Jail and potentially additional prison time after pleading guilty to felony insurance fraud.

The Marin County District Attorney’s Office filed multiple insurance fraud charges against Marilyn Gibson, 46, on February 13, 2025. On July 28, Gibson pled guilty to a felony violation of Penal Code section 550(a)(4), Filing a False Insurance Claim, and admitted several enhancements related to her prior criminal history, which included multiple prior fraud-related convictions.

At the conclusion of the October 20 sentencing hearing, Gibson was remanded into custody to serve 180 days in jail. Judge Kelly Simmons imposed a three-year prison term that is stayed pending Gibson’s successful completion of probation. Gibson is on a two-year grant of supervised probation during which she must pay a penal fine of $1,000, complete 40 hours of community service, and complete a theft awareness class. Should Gibson fail to comply with the terms of her probation, she will be required to serve the three-year prison sentence.

On September 15, 2021, Gibson rear-ended another car, causing significant damage to the hood of her car. The following day, Gibson called an insurance company and obtained a policy without disclosing the accident she had caused.

Eight days later, Gibson submitted a false claim under the recently acquired policy, asserting her car was parked near Carlotta Circle in unincorporated Strawberry when it was struck by another car that fled the scene. That claim was denied due to lack of proper collision coverage, and the policy later was canceled for nonpayment.

Six weeks later, Gibson obtained a second insurance policy with a different insurance carrier effective December 8, 2021. After waiting one month, on January 8, 2022, Gibson submitted a false claim under this second policy, asserting that her recently parked car was struck by another car that fled the scene. Gibson submitted the same photos showing damage to the hood of her car that she had submitted in support of the September 23, 2021, false claim.

An investigator for the second insurance company determined that Gibson had made the same claim to the first insurance company and confronted her in a telephone interview. Gibson denied making the first claim and insisted that she bought the car in September 2021 and had not experienced any accidents whatsoever. The DA’s Office filed charges following a detailed review and analysis of the case.

The DA’s Office would like to remind the public that reporting false information to an auto insurance carrier when making an insurance claim constitutes insurance fraud. A person still can be prosecuted for fraud even if the claim is denied and no money is obtained from the insurance company. Auto insurance fraud is a felony that can result in a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.