|
TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Morris County insurance agent has
pleaded guilty to stealing more than $44,000
in insurance premiums from an insurance
purchaser.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, William Kloss, 42, Boonton, pleaded
guilty before Superior Court Judge Salem
V. Ahto in Morris County to a criminal accusation
which charged him with third-degree theft
by failure to make required disposition
of property received.
At
the guilty plea hearing, Kloss, a licensed
insurance agent who operated Pringle, Kloss
& Associates, an insurance agency in
Morristown, admitted that he received over
$44,000 in insurance premium money from
a home repair business known as Complete
Roofing Systems. Instead of remitting Complete
Roofing Systems’ insurance premium
money to an insurance carrier for general
liability insurance, Kloss stole the money
and used it for his own purposes.
State
Investigator Robert Stemmer, and Deputy
Attorneys General Lewis J. Korngut and Dennis
Kwasnik were assigned to the investigation.
Kwasnik represented the Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing.
The Department of Banking and Insurance
assisted the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
with the investigation and prosecution.
"It
is particularly troublesome when licensed
insurance agents engage in fraud,"
Prosecutor Brown said. "The public
places a great deal of trust in licensed
insurance agents and expects them to adhere
to high ethical standards. To do otherwise
constitutes a breach of the public trust.
This office will continue to investigate
and prosecute thefts by insurance agents
wherever appropriate."
Kloss
is scheduled to appear before Judge Ahto
on April 20 to be sentenced. Third-degree
crimes carry sentences of up to five years
in state prison, and a criminal fine of
up to $15,000. This matter will also be
referred to the Department of Banking and
Insurance for licensing action they deem
appropriate.
#
# #
|
