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TRENTON
- Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced today that an Essex County man
has been sentenced for his role in an insurance
fraud scheme.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Aaron Bryant Davis, 26, of Irvington,
was ordered by Superior Court Judge Siobhan
A. Teare in Essex County to serve three
years probation and to pay a $750 criminal
fine in addition to a $1,500 civil insurance
fraud fine. Davis was sentenced yesterday
pursuant to his guilty plea to conspiracy
and insurance fraud, charges contained in
a Feb. 23 Essex County grand jury indictment.
At
the May 14 guilty plea hearing, Davis admitted
he conspired with Shakira Freeman, 28, of
Irvington, and Shafiquah Arrington, 28,
of Irvington, to enhance damage to Arrington’s
automobile – a 2005 Nissan Altima,
which was registered to Freeman –
after it was involved in an accident. The
car was subsequently reported stolen, and
the additional damage was intended to make
it appear that it had, in fact, been stolen.
A $10,125 insurance claim was submitted
to GEICO Insurance Company. The claim was
not paid because the insurance company’s
investigator questioned it and referred
the matter to the Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor.
As
part of the investigation, Freeman pleaded
guilty before Judge Teare on May 14 and
was admitted into Pre-Trial Intervention
program. The case against Arrington is pending.
State
Investigator Franco Cignarella, Civil Investigator
Gary Miller and Deputy Attorney General
Robert J. Brass were assigned to the investigation.
Brass represented the Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing.
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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