TRENTON
- Attorney General Zulima V. Farber and
Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory
A. Paw announced that seven individuals,
including the owner of a Union County auto
body shop, were named today in a state grand
jury indictment for their roles in a $117,000
staged accident insurance fraud scam.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, the seven defendants were charged
as follows:
- Marco
Rebelo, 33, of Avenel, the owner and
operator of Creative Auto Body on 409
East 1st Avenue in Roselle, was charged
with conspiracy, misconduct by a corporate
official, both in the second-degree,
as well as third-degree tampering with
public records or information;
-
Eli Vasquez, 33, currently incarcerated
at Bayside State Prison, was charged
with second-degree conspiracy and four
counts of third-degree theft and attempted
theft by deception;
-
Danny DaCosta, 26, of Elizabeth, was
charged with second-degree conspiracy
and two counts of third-degree theft
and attempted theft by deception;
-
Rogerio Neves, 37, of Elizabeth, was
charged with second-degree conspiracy
and third-degree theft and attempted
theft by deception;
-
Rui Correia, 26, of Elizabeth, was charged
with second-degree conspiracy and third
degree theft and attempted theft by
deception;
-
Charles T. Smith, 35, of Willingboro,
was charged with third-degree theft
and attempted theft by deception; and
- Marquita
Best, 31, of Linden, was charged with
third-degree theft and attempted theft
by deception.
Under
state law, crimes of the second degree carry
a maximum punishment of 10 years in state
prison and a criminal fine of $150,000,
while crimes of the third degree carry a
maximum punishment of five years in state
prison and a criminal fine of $15,000. In
addition, the defendants may face civil
insurance fraud fines.
The indictment alleges that the defendants
reported seven staged or fictitious car
accidents between March 2001 and March 2003
and filed more than $117,800 in fraudulent
automobile insurance property damage claims
based on those phony accidents. The defendants
and others allegedly provided false information
for police accident reports from the Roselle
and Plainfield Police Departments that were
used to support the accident claims. Claims
were filed with Progressive Insurance Company,
Great American Insurance Company, Clarendon
National Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance
Company and the Liberty Mutual Insurance
Company. Approximately $94,200 was paid
by the insurance companies.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County.
Feinberg ordered that the case be prosecuted
in Union County, where the defendants will
be ordered to appear in court to answer
the charges on a date to be determined.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
State
Investigators Thomas Harrington and Lisa
Egan, Civil Investigators Raymond Britton,
Arthur Williams and Joseph Burro, and Deputy
Attorney General Joseph J. Egan, Jr. were
assigned to the investigation. Egan presented
the case to the state grand jury.
“Staged
car accidents are a particularly egregious
form of insurance fraud, because of the
potential they present for injury or even
death,” said Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Brown.“Today’s indictment demonstrates
our resolve to vigorously investigate and
prosecute this type of crime.”
Prosecutor Brown noted that some important
cases have begun with anonymous tips from
the public. People who are concerned about
insurance cheating and have any information
about a fraud can report it anonymously
by calling our toll-free hotline at 1-877-55-FRAUD,
or visit our Web site at www.NJInsuranceFraud.org.
State regulations permit an award to be
paid to an eligible person who provides
information that leads to an arrest, prosecution
and conviction for insurance fraud.
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 both civil and
criminal insurance fraud, as well as Medicaid
fraud. Criminal convictions for insurance
fraud can result in fines and imprisonment,
while civil penalties can include substantial
fines and referral for revocation or suspension
of professional licenses.
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