TRENTON - Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that an Old Bridge man and his firm were sentenced today in connection with a car “give up” scam.
According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Stephen J. Pielli, 46, of Old Bridge, was ordered by Superior Court Judge Frederick DeVesa in Middlesex County to serve two years probation. Pielli’s landscaping corporation, General Green Inc., located on Hawkins Road in Old Bridge, was ordered to pay a $5,000 civil fine. Both Pielli and his corporation pleaded guilty on Nov. 29 to a criminal accusation which charged insurance fraud.
At the guilty plea hearing, Pielli admitted that as part of a “give up” scam between Feb. 28 and Sept. 13, 2006, he submitted a phony auto theft claim to an insurance company involving a car he leased through his corporation, General Green. Pielli admitted that he falsely reported to the Old Bridge Police Department and High Point Safety and Insurance Management Company that the 2005 Mercedes Benz SL500 had been stolen from the driveway of his home. In fact, the car had not been stolen. Pielli subsequently sued High Point for insurance claims money, even though the claim he submitted was false. An owner initiated “give up” occurs when the owner voluntarily gives up his car to another so that it can be chopped for parts or retagged with a different vehicle identification number and sold, and so that a phony insurance claim can be submitted.
This case was referred to the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor by the Special Investigative Unit of High Point Safety and Insurance Management Corporation, which initially uncovered the fraud. Prosecutor Brown thanked High Point for their assistance in this matter.
State Investigator Amy Carson, Civil Investigator William Frey and Deputy Attorney General Carol Stanton Meier were assigned to the investigation. Meier represented the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing.
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