TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that an insurance company employee and two
Monmouth County men have been charged with
conspiracy and theft for their roles in
a $19,000 insurance claim check scam.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Lisa M. Gordon, formerly Lisa Fitzpatrick,
35, of Jackson, was charged with third-degree
conspiracy to commit theft by deception
and three counts of third-degree theft by
deception. In addition, Brady Bell, 39,
of Wall, and Robert J. Scatigna, 35, of
Neptune, were each charged with third-degree
theft by deception.
The
indictment returned on Oct. 30 by a Monmouth
County grand jury and handed up today in
Superior Court alleges that between June
25 and July 29, 2002, Gordon, a former insurance
claims processor for State Farm Insurance
Company at State Farm’s Farmingdale
office, conspired with Bell and Scatigna
to steal more than $19,000 worth of insurance
claim checks from State Farm. An investigation
determined that Gordon fraudulently issued
five checks to Bell, Scatigna, and a person
who was not further identified by the indictment.
The
investigation revealed that the two checks
that were allegedly issued to Bell –
for $6,907.11 and $7,500 – were made
out in the name of his father. Bell allegedly
signed his father’s name and deposited
the fraudulent check into a joint account
that he shared with his father. It is alleged
that Bell subsequently withdrew cash from
the account in the amount of the fraudulent
check and gave the cash to Gordon.
Director
Paw noted that on July 24, 2002, Gordon
allegedly added Scatigna to a claim to which
he was not an authorized payee. An investigation
determined that the same day, Gordon allegedly
issued Scatigna a check from State Farm
for $4,995.95, which he subsequently deposited
into his bank account. Scatigna then allegedly
gave part of the money back to Gordon.
State
Investigator Carlos Ortiz and Deputy Attorney
General Peter W. Lee are handling the case.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Third-degree crimes carry a sentence
of up to five years in prison and a criminal
fine of $15,000.
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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