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TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw, announced
that four co-defendants were sentenced today
for their roles in an insurance fraud scheme
involving an auto body shop in Roselle.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, the four were sentenced as follows
by Superior Court Judge James C. Heimlich
in Union County. All four had pleaded guilty
before Judge Heimlich on March 12.
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Eli Vasquez,
34, was sentenced to five years in prison
and was ordered to pay restitution to
insurance companies totaling $53,591.
He also signed a consent order to pay
a civil penalty of $25,000. Vasquez, currently
incarcerated at Bayside State Prison,
pleaded guilty to second degree conspiracy,
three counts of third-degree theft by
deception, and one count of third-degree
attempted theft by deception.
- Danny DaCosta,
26, of Elizabeth, was sentenced to one
year probation and ordered to pay restitution
to insurance companies totaling $23,919.
He also signed a consent order to pay
a civil penalty of $5,000. DaCosta pleaded
guilty to two counts of third-degree theft
by deception.
- Rogerio Neves,
37, of Elizabeth, was sentenced to one
year probation. He signed a consent order
to pay a civil penalty of $5,000. Neves
pleaded guilty to third-degree attempted
theft by deception.
- Rui Correia,
27, of Elizabeth, was sentenced to one
year probation. He signed a consent order
to pay a civil penalty of $5,000. Correia
pleaded guilty to third-degree attempted
theft by deception.
Two
other co-defendants also pleaded guilty
before Judge Heimlich on March 12. Charles
T. Smith, 36, of Willingboro Smith pleaded
guilty to third-degree theft by deception.
On April 18, 2007, he was admitted into
the pre-trial intervention program
Marco
Rebelo, 33, of Avenel, the owner and operator
of Creative Auto Body at 409 East 1st Avenue
in Roselle, pleaded guilty to second-degree
conspiracy and theft by deception. Rebelo
is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1.
All
six defendants pleaded guilty to charges
contained in a Dec. 6, 2006 state grand
jury indictment obtained by the Office of
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
At
the guilty plea hearing on March 12, the
defendants admitted to their roles in a
conspiracy to report seven staged or fictitious
car accidents between March 2001 and March
2003 and file more than $117,800 in fraudulent
automobile insurance property damage claims
based on those phony accidents. The defendants
admitted that they provided false information
for police accident reports from the Roselle
and Plainfield Police Departments that were
used to support the accident claims. Claims
were filed with Progressive Insurance Company,
Great American Insurance Company, Clarendon
National Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance
Company and the Liberty Mutual Insurance
Company. Approximately $94,200 was paid
by the insurance companies.
Two former police officers have also pleaded
guilty as a result of this investigation.
Samad Abdel, 42, of Roselle, a former Plainfield
police detective, pleaded guilty on Dec.
18 before Judge Heimlich to two counts of
third-degree official misconduct. He is
scheduled to be sentenced on May 18. John
A. Smith, 37, a former Roselle police officer,
pleaded guilty April 16 before Judge Heimlich
to third-degree official misconduct. He
is scheduled to be sentenced on June 15.
Both officers admitted to filing a false
police report or reports so that fraudulent
insurance claims could be submitted.
State
Investigators Thomas Harrington and Lisa
Egan, Civil Investigators Raymond Britton,
Arthur Williams and Joseph Burro, Administrative
Analyst Christine Runkle and Deputy Attorney
General Joseph J. Egan Jr. were assigned
to the investigation. Egan represented the
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at
the sentencing.
“Staged
car accidents are a particularly egregious
form of insurance fraud because of the potential
they present for injury or even death,”
said Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown.“These
sentences demonstrate our resolve to vigorously
investigate and prosecute this type of crime.”
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 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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