TRENTON
- Acting Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory
A. Paw announced that a Mercer County husband
and wife have been indicted in an alleged
phony insurance card scheme.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Charlotte T. Murphy, 46, and her
husband Dan L. “Larry” Murphy,
46, of Reservoir Street, Trenton, were charged
with conspiracy and simulating a motor vehicle
insurance identification card, both third-degree
crimes. Charlotte also was charged with
third-degree tampering with public records,
and fourth-degree falsifying records.
The
indictment returned today by a Mercer County
grand jury alleges that between July 1 and
Sept. 30, 2005, the Murphys allegedly produced
and sold phony car insurance identification
cards. It is alleged that the couple conspired
to produce a phony Liberty Mutual Auto Insurance
card and a phony State Farm Insurance card
in a false name. Charlotte Murphy also allegedly
attempted to register a car at the Motor
Vehicle Commission by using a phony Prudential
insurance card.
On
September 29, 2005, the Murphys were arrested
by state investigators from the Office of
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor and charged in
connection with the scam. Phony insurance
cards can sell on the street for anywhere
from $50 to more than $200 apiece. They
are used by uninsured motorists to conceal
the fact that they do not have car insurance
as required by law.
Third-degree
crimes carry a sentence of up to five years
in state prison and a criminal fine of $15,000,
while fourth-degree crimes carry a sentence
of up to 18 months in state prison and a
criminal fine of $10,000. The indictment
is merely an accusation and the defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
State
Investigators Kelly Howard and Darrell Washington
and Deputy Attorney General Frank L. Holstein
were assigned to the investigation. Holstein
presented the case to the grand jury.
“All
drivers are required by law to have auto
insurance for their own protection and the
protection of other motorists,” said
Fraud Prosecutor Brown. “Those who
obtain or sell fake insurance cards put
everyone at risk.”
Prosecutor
Brown noted that some important cases have
started with anonymous tips. People who
are concerned about insurance cheating and
have information about a fraud can report
it anonymously by calling the toll-free
hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD
or visiting the Web 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 Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was
established by the Automobile Insurance
Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is
the centralized state agency that investigates
and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance
fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.
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