| TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that an Ocean County woman and her son have
been charged for their roles in an insurance
fraud conspiracy.
According to Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Mary Maldonado,
47, of Lanoka Harbor, and her son, Alan
Maldonado, Jr., 20, also of Lanoka Harbor,
were each charged with second-degree conspiracy
and insurance fraud, and third-degree attempted
theft by deception. Alan Maldonado was also
charged with third-degree tampering with
public records or information while Mary
Maldonado was also charged with fourth-degree
false swearing.
The Nov. 30 Somerset County
grand jury indictment alleges that between
March 19 and Sept. 7, 2005, Mary and Alan
Maldonado conspired to falsely claim that
a 2002 Acura had been stolen in order to
collect a phony auto theft insurance claim.
It is charged that Mary Maldonado falsely
reported to the Old Bridge Police that the
2002 Acura had been stolen, and subsequently
filed an insurance claim with Allstate Insurance.
An investigation determined that Maldonado
had been involved in an accident while driving
the Acura, and that he and his mother made
the phony theft claim to conceal the fact
that it was Alan Maldonado who had the accident.
Allstate denied the claim and referred the
matter to the Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor.
State Investigator Thomas
Tiernan, Civil Investigator Christopher
Gancy, and Deputy Attorney General Valerie
A. Noto coordinated the investigation. Noto
presented the case to the grand jury.
The indictment is merely an accusation.
The defendants are presumed to be innocent
unless and until proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt. Second-degree crimes 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 5 years in state prison
and a criminal fine of $15,000. Fourth-degree
crimes carry a maximum punishment of 18
months in state prison and a criminal fine
of up to $10,000. The defendants also face
civil insurance fraud fines.
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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