Southland Woman Gets 5 Years For Defrauding 'The Knot' Website

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Santa Clarita woman will spend the next five years at the Century Regional Detention Facility for trying to scam the wedding website The Knot out of $10,000.

Vermyttya Miller, 38, was also ordered to pay $22,500 in restitution, which includes fees to investigate the crime, according to state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

Miller, who entered a no contest plea last Wednesday, booked a wedding reception at the Galleria Ballroom in Glendale through The Knot in October 2016. The booking came with a $10,000 event cancellation insurance policy.

Soon after she booked the venue, Miller claimed she tripped on her wedding dress and was injured so severely that she had to cancel the reception, according to the Department of Insurance, which reported that she submitted phony medical reports documenting the claim.

The insurer sent her a $10,000 check, but roughly a month later, Miller reported the check stolen and sent a doctored version of a previously submitted police report to back up her story, according to the Department of Insurance. At that point, the insurer, Tokio Marine, referred the claim to the DOI for investigation.

Lara underlined that criminal fraud carries serious consequences.

"Miller's trail of fraudulent claims led straight to a five-year jail sentence after department detectives unraveled her scheme," he said. "Insurance fraud is a felony with serious penalties and consequences. We are committed to uncovering fraud and working with prosecutors to bring criminals to justice."

—By City News Service