TRENTON
- Attorney General Peter C. Harvey announced
that the Division of Criminal Justice
- Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
has charged two Middlesex County residents
with filing false insurance or "jump-in"
claims in order to collect thousands of
dollars in insurance pay-outs for nonexistent
injuries sustained in accidents in which
they were not involved.
According
to Vaughn L. McKoy, Director, Division
of Criminal Justice and Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, separate
Middlesex County Grand Jury indictments
charge Owen Tracy, 38, King Georges Road,
Fords (Woodbridge Township) and Wanda
R. Middleton, 33, Howard Street, New Brunswick,
with Health Care Claims Fraud (2nd degree)
and attempted theft by deception (3rd
degree). Tracy was additionally charged
with false swearing (4th degree). If convicted
on all charges, Tracy faces up to 161/2
years in state prison and a fine of up
to $175,000 while Middleton faces up to
15 years in state prison and a fine of
up to $165,000. Both defendants face possible
civil insurance fraud fines pursuant to
the Insurance Fraud Prevention Act.
The
first Middlesex County Grand Jury indictment
alleges that on Sept. 8, 2001, Tracy's
girlfriend was involved in a motor vehicle
accident while traveling in Perth Amboy.
The indictment alleges that Tracy, who
was not in the car at the time of the
accident, subsequently filed a $1,672
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance
claim with Rutgers Casualty Insurance
Company. In filing the fraudulent claim,
Tracy submitted an affidavit indicating
that he was a passenger in the vehicle
at the time of the accident; that he did
not have insurance coverage; and that
he was entitled to insurance benefits
because of "injuries" sustained
while a passenger in the girlfriend's
insured vehicle. Rutgers Casualty denied
the claim and referred the case to the
Division of Criminal Justice - Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor for investigation.
The
second indictment charges Middleton with
orchestrating a similar "jump-in"
insurance fraud scam to obtain a cash
settlement for non-existent injuries sustained
in an accident in which she was not involved.
The indictment alleges that Middleton
claimed she was injured in a Sept. 8,
2001 two-car motor vehicle accident which
occurred in Edison. Subsequent investigation
determined that one of the vehicles involved
in the accident was occupied by the driver
and two passengers, while the second vehicle
was occupied by only the driver. It is
alleged that Middleton, who was not in
either vehicle and was not involved in
the accident, submitted a series of false
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance
claims with NJ Cure Insurance claiming
she was a passenger in the insured's car
and was injured in the accident. The PIP
claims totaled more than $16,000 and sought
payment for medial treatments purportedly
provided to Middleton. NJ Cure denied
the claims and referred the case to the
Division of Criminal Justice - Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor for investigation
and prosecution.
State
Investigator Frederic Moore and Civil
Investigator Carlton Cooper were assigned
to the Tracy case. State Investigator
Karen Rivera and Civil Investigator Carlton
Cooper investigated the Middleton case.
Deputy Attorney General Valerie A. Noto
coordinated both prosecutions and presented
the cases to the Middlesex County Grand
Jury.
"These
are classic ‘jump in' insurance
fraud cases where the ‘injured'
person was not even a passenger in the
car. The Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
is committed to protecting honest, rate-paying
insurance customers from unscrupulous
acts by combating insurance fraud in whatever
form it takes," said Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor Gooden Brown. "These indictments
demonstrate our resolve to prosecute anyone
who attempts to subvert the insurance
claim process by submitting false claims."
Noting
that some important cases have begun with
anonymous tips from the public, Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Gooden Brown encouraged
anyone with information about insurance
fraud to contact the Division of Criminal
Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor's
toll-free hotline at 1-877-55-FRAUD,
or to visit the insurance fraud web site
at www.NJInsurancefraud.org.
Housed
in the Department of Law and Public Safety's
Division of Criminal Justice and reporting
to the Attorney General, the Office of
the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was established
by the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction
Act of 1998 (AICRA). The Office is the
centralized state agency that investigates
and prosecutes civil and criminal insurance
fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud. Criminal
convictions for insurance fraud can result
in fines and imprisonment. Civil penalties
can include substantial fines and referral
for revocation or suspension of professional
licenses.
An
indictment is an accusation. The defendants
are presumed to be innocent of the charges
unless and until proven guilty beyond
a reasonable doubt.
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