Illinois man pleads guilty to insurance claim swindles

An Elgin man who submitted claims to several insurance companies in phony slip-and-fall incidents is facing up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty fraud and forgery. Juventino Guzman, 52, of the 500 block of Prospect Street, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of aggravated insurance fraud, a Class 1 felony, and one count of forgery, a Class 3 felony, according to a release from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.Circuit Judge John A. Barsanti accepted the plea and set Guzman’s next court appearance for Dec. 20 for sentencing. Guzman faces a sentence of probation or between four and 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Police said Guzman claimed he slipped and fell in the bathrooms at Popeye’s Chicken in Elgin, Burger King in Carpentersville, and at Butera Supermarket in Elgin on various dates and using various names, between November 2011 and December 2012.