TRENTON - Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that two men pleaded guilty yesterday to being part of a theft ring that targeted luxury cars.
According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Chevon Robinson, 26, of Elizabeth, and Kirtice Cummings, 35, of Newark, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge John S. Triarsi in Union County to separate accusations that charged each of them with second-degree fencing.
At the guilty plea hearing, Robinson and Cummings admitted to knowingly trafficking stolen property by making arrangements and assisting in the sale of three stolen automobiles, which had a combined value of more than $200,000: a 2007 BMW Alpina, and two 2007 Infinity FXs.
As part of the ongoing investigation into the ring, approximately 25 reported stolen vehicles have been recovered by the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, including many high-end vehicles. Vehicles totaling in excess of $1,500,000 were recovered. The majority of recovered vehicles were allegedly stolen from New Jersey Port Authority new car holding lots and other new car holding lots, as well as from a long-term parking lot situated next to Newark Liberty International Airport.
Investigators with the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor arrested Robinson and Cummings, as well as Saladine Grant, 33, of Newark, on July 31, 2007. Grant was charged with receipt of stolen property, fencing, and conspiracy. At the time, Judge Triarsi set Grant’s bail at $1,000,000. Grant’s case is still pending.
State Investigators Jarek Pyrzanowski and Jeffrey Lorman, and Deputy Attorney General John J. Higgins were assigned to the investigation. Higgins represented the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing.
Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanked the following individuals and agencies for their assistance in the investigation: Perth Amboy Police Department; Detective Ronald Snyder of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police; Detective Aaron Auclair of the New Jersey State Police; the Edison Township Police Department; and the Piscataway Police Department.
“Frequently insurance fraud investigations lead to evidence of stolen automobiles,” said Prosecutor Brown. “This office will continue to follow evidence of auto insurance fraud and theft wherever it leads.”
Robinson and Cummings are scheduled to appear before Judge Douglas Fasciale on May 2 for sentencing. Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a 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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