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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that three Willingboro men pleaded guilty
late Friday for their roles in a $500,000
motorcycle theft ring in South Jersey.
The
pleas resulted from a joint investigation
by the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
and New Jersey State Police in which 23
persons were arrested.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Kyle Bunn, 30, Ronald Crosland, 30,
Jamar Doggett, 28, all of Willingboro, pleaded
guilty before Superior Court Judge Thomas
S. Smith Jr. in Burlington County to charges
contained in a 39-count state grand jury
indictment returned on March 20, 2007. Bunn,
Crosland and Doggett each pleaded to second-degree
conspiracy to commit receiving stolen property.
On
Jan. 2, Jaesen Hensley, 25, of Lumberton,
pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy
to commit receiving stolen property.
At the guilty plea hearing, the defendants
admitted that from 2003 to 2005, they participated
in a criminal enterprise which operated
primarily in Atlantic, Burlington and Mercer
Counties. The defendants admitted that they
scouted for motorcycles and all terrain
vehicles to steal, usually as they were
parked near the homes of their owners. The
motorcycles and ATVs were stolen by various
members of the conspiracy. Afterward, some
of the vehicles were “retagged”
or “stamped” and sold. Retagging
or stamping occurs when the vehicle identification
number is changed so that the motorcycle
or ATV cannot be identified as having been
stolen.
The criminal enterprise focused on thefts
of Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Honda motorcycles.
In addition, Crosland was charged with theft
of a 1997 Dodge van that the enterprise
used to transport stolen motorcycles. In
total, about 75 stolen motorcycles and ATVs
have been recovered as a result of the investigation,
with a total value in excess of $500,000.
Bunn, Crosland, Doggett and Hensley were
arrested on May 4, 2005, with 14 other people.
As a result of the ongoing investigation,
16 defendants have pleaded guilty. Torray
Murphy, 31, of Willingboro, was sentenced
to five years in state prison. Another defendant,
Johnnie Kennedy, 27, of Trenton, was sentenced
to nine months in state prison. A third
defendant, Michael Green, 31, of Willingboro,
was sentenced to six months in county jail.
Detective Sgt. Mark Wilhelm and Detective
Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Martin of the State
Police, and State Investigator Christina
Fiscella, Analyst Terri Drumm and Deputy
Attorney General Christine A. Hoffman of
the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
were assigned to the investigation into
this case. Hoffman represented the state
at the guilty plea hearing.
Hensley is scheduled to be sentenced by
Judge Smith on March 14; Doggett on March
28; Crosland on April 18; and Bunn on June
6. Second-degree crimes carry sentences
of up to 10 years in state prison, and a
criminal fine of up to $150,000.
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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