A total of 24 people have been charged so far with insurance fraud after they put false claims to be Pennsylvania’s residents to obtain benefit of lower rates on their automobile insurance.

Out of the 24 charged, 17 people belong to New York and six to New Jersey, while the 24th is a Reading woman who allowed her New Yorker brother to use her address to get auto insurance at lower rates.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said the rate evasion leads to $12-$15 million in claims on Pennsylvania policies that affects the pockets of every other driver in Pennsylvania.

Insurance rates in Pennsylvania are comparatively cheaper than that of New York and New Jersey. Lower insurance rates in Pennsylvania can save up to $4000 annually in premiums.  The Pennsylvania Attorney General's spokesperson Nils Fredericksen said that each of the 24 defendants could face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison plus a $15,000 fine.