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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Somerset County insurance agent has
been charged with stealing insurance premium
monies.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Abdul Yakubu, 32, of Piscataway,
was indicted by a Morris County grand jury
on a charge of third-degree theft by failure
to make required disposition of property
received. The indictment was voted last
week but handed up in court today.
The
indictment alleges that between March 27
and April 5, 2006, Yakubu, who was a New
Jersey-licensed insurance agent representing
New York Life Insurance Company at the time,
stole insurance premium money from customers.
Yakubu allegedly accepted $600 in premium
monies from at least two customers, but
did not remit the money to the insurance
company and instead used the money for his
own purposes.
State Investigator James Wrightson and Deputy
Attorney General Dennis Kwasnik were assigned
to the investigation. Kwasnik presented
the case to the Morris County Grand Jury.
This case was referred to OIFP by the Special
Investigative Unit of New York Life Insurance
Company, which initially uncovered the fraud
and assisted OIFP in the investigation.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanked
New York Life for their assistance in this
matter.
The
Department of Banking and Insurance routinely
assists the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
with the investigation and prosecution of
licensed insurance agents. This assistance
enables the state to coordinate criminal
investigations and prosecutions with any
imposition of licensing sanctions in all
such cases in order to protect the public.
"The
public places a great deal of trust in licensed
insurance agents and expects them to adhere
to high ethical standards,” Prosecutor
Brown said. “My office will continue
to vigorously investigate and prosecute
thefts by insurance agents.”
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.
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