San Jose man convicted of insurance fraud for filing claim for collision he caused

SAN JOSE - A man was convicted of felony insurance fraud and other charges last week after filing an insurance claim for a vehicle collision he caused during a road rage incident, prosecutors said.

Ken Pham Tran, 53, was also convicted of felony vandalism and reckless driving, according to a news release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

"Beyond endangering people's lives, including his own, this defendant pretended his own reckless driving was simply an accident," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a news release. "Trying to defraud an insurance company is bad enough. Trying to profit from your own road rage is outrageous and we will seek an appropriate punishment."

Tran had been driving his white Jeep Wrangler Rubicon on Highway 101 near Alum Rock Avenue on Jan. 28, 2025 when he began to repeatedly hit his brakes while driving in front of a the semi-truck, prosecutors said. He was “furious because he felt he had been cut off.”

Tran “brake checked” the truck twice at the Story Road underpass, prosecutors said. When the truck attempted to change lanes to escape the Jeep, Tran once again moved his vehicle in front of the truck and “brake checked” it a third time. The driver of the truck then collided with the back of Tran’s Jeep.

A witness to the reckless driving reported it to 911, prosecutors said. Tran independently called 911 to make a report that the truck driver caused a hit and run collision, telling police that he had been stopped in traffic when his vehicle was rear-ended.

Tran later told Progressive Insurance Co. that the damage to his car was “caused by an accident,” prosecutors added. The report also “minimized and omitted his unsafe driving.”

The incident was caught on the dash cam of the commercial truck, prosecutors added.

Tran will next appear in court for his sentencing on July 10, where he faces jail time, prosecutors said. Progressive Insurance Co. seeks $1,200 in restitution and Bill Jacobsen Trucking seeks $6,000 in restitution.

A defense attorney for Tran could not immediately be reached. Bill Jacobsen Trucking declined to comment on the conviction. Progressive did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 9:04 PM.