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Martha Gutierrez DeRomero told authorities she stopped her Chevy van, en route to a swap meet, among groves of fruit trees just outside Madera in Central California to adjust her merchandise when the men appeared.

It was a tale of timing — poor for DeRomero and fortuitous for the carjackers — that didn’t quite sit well with Madera County sheriff’s deputies.

DeRomero and her boyfriend Alfredo Ledezma, 57, of Madera were charged Friday with a felony count of insurance fraud and a misdemeanor count of filing a false police report, according to court records.

“What began as a serious and concerning report of a violent carjacking quickly unraveled under careful investigation,” Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue said in a statement.

Madera County Sheriff officials did not return phone calls from The Times seeking additional comment.