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TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Hudson County man was sentenced to
prison after pleading guilty to selling
fake driver credentials to an undercover
investigator.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Rafael Ottenwalder, 51, of West New
York, who used the name “Gordo,”
was sentenced to three years in state prison
by Superior Court Judge Peter J. Vazquez
in Hudson County. The sentence follows Ottenwalder’s
guilty plea on Oct. 13, 2006 to charges
of selling a simulated New Jersey driver’s
license and selling a simulated motor vehicle
insurance identification card.
Ottenwalder
admitted that in May and June of 2005 in
Union City, he knowingly sold a fictitious
New Jersey driver’s license and a
fictitious New Jersey insurance identification
card to an undercover investigator from
the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
Phony insurance identification cards can
sell on the street for $50 to more than
$200 each.
“The
sale of fake driver credentials is a serious
law enforcement and public safety issue
because motorists are using them to circumvent
the law and drive without a license or insurance,”
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown said. “These
cases will remain a high priority for my
office.”
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 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.
State Investigators Luis Cruz and Ned Shaw
and Deputy Attorney General Andrew C. Fried
handled the case.
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