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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Middlesex County man has been indicted
on charges that he stole more than $5,000
in life insurance proceeds.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Joel Small, 53, of New Brunswick,
was indicted by a Middlesex County grand
jury on charges of insurance fraud, theft
by deception, and forgery, all in the third-degree,
as well as two counts of fourth-degree forgery.
The indictment was handed up today in Superior
Court in Middlesex County.
The
indictment alleges that between Nov. 4,
2003 and March 31, 2004, Small committed
theft of life insurance proceeds by altering
documents to create the impression that
he was the beneficiary of a relative’s
life insurance policy. Small allegedly altered
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
policy by forging certain insurance company
forms so that he became the beneficiary.
It is alleged he collected $5,466 from the
policy.
State
Investigator Earl Washington, Civil Investigator
Craig Leshner and Deputy Attorney General
Nicole D. Rizzolo were assigned to the investigation.
Rizzolo presented the case to the Middlesex
County grand jury. Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Brown thanks Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company for their assistance in the investigation.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Third-degree crimes carry a maximum
punishment of five years in state prison
and a criminal fine of $15,000, while crimes
of the fourth-degree carry a maximum punishment
of 18 months in prison and a fine of $10,000.
Small also may face civil insurance fraud
fines.
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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