TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that an Ocean County woman was sentenced
today to five years in state prison for
stealing more than $700,000 in life insurance
monies.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Mary Maschuci, 55, of Toms River,
was ordered by Ocean County Superior Court
Judge James N. Citta to serve five years
in state prison and to pay $105,000 restitution.
The sentence follows Maschuci’s June
19, 2006 guilty plea to charges of insurance
fraud and theft by deception, both in the
second degree.
In pleading guilty, Maschuci admitted that
between June 9, 2003 and April 20, 2005,
she submitted false life insurance claims
to nine insurance companies. Specifically,
she admitted that she applied to the companies
for life insurance benefits on her life,
then posed as her adult daughter to file
false claims, informing the insurance companies
that Mary Maschuci had died. Maschuci also
submitted false death certificates to the
companies. Maschuci attempted to collect
more than $1.08 million in claims monies
and was successful in collecting $738,409.
The
false life insurance claims were sent to
Empire Indemnity Insurance Company, Individual
Assurance Company, Protective Life Insurance
Company, AIG Insurance Company, Hartford
Life & Accident Insurance Company, USAA
Life Insurance Company, Minnesota Life Insurance
Company, Allstate Insurance Company, and
Manhattan National Life Insurance Company,
formerly Conseco Insurance Company.
State
Investigator Natalie Brotherston, Civil
Investigator David Hiestand and Deputy Attorney
General Stephen Cirillo handled the case.
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.
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