Auto Insurance Claims: Stolen Car claim, car found by friend, can i just leave car where it sits, insurance fraud

Question
My friends car was stolen. I found the car a couple weeks later sitting in apartment complex. My friend had already been shopping for a new car, and had found one she really liked. When iphoned her to let her know, she begged me not to inform police. She said she would rather just let the insurance pay so she could get the car she wanted. My first question. Would that be consedered insurance fraud? If so, what kind of trouble would she be in?

Answer
Jason,

  Sorry for the delayed response.  Okay, so . . . . . you must tell!  It would indeed be fraud to conceal the information from the insurance company.  It's more technical than that, but basically, if you have info that will resolve an insurance claim and you do not provide it either for profit or not, it could be big trouble if the right investigator gets the information.  

  Now, what she should do about the situation is make sure her vehicle is not damaged due to the theft.  The insurance company may pay for the vehicle anyway. How do we know the vehicle is not useless sitting there with a blown motor or some other major mechanical problem?  Anyway, I answered this one for fun because I think you guys know what is right and wrong!  You can't lie to the police or an insurance company just because you want a new car, lol!

I hope this helps!