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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a former Camden car dealer was sentenced
on Friday for receiving stolen property.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Raphael Rosario, 51, of Pennsauken,
was sentenced to three years probation by
Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Brown Jr.
in Camden. Rosario was sentenced pursuant
to his guilty plea to an accusation that
charged him with third-degree receiving
stolen property.
Rosario
was owner and operator of Wilson Motors
on North 24th Street in Camden, a business
that acquired damaged vehicles in order
to refurbish and sell them or sell the parts.
Wilson Motors is no longer in business.
At his guilty plea hearing on March 3, Rosario
admitted that between October 2005 and August
2006, he acquired and resold a vehicle without
making the proper inquiry as a car dealer
into whether the vehicle was stolen property.
Specifically, Rosario admitted that he acquired
a 2005 Suzuki XL7 without verifying whether
the owner of the Suzuki XL7 had the legal
authority to sell or otherwise dispose of
the vehicle. The Suzuki XL7 was, in fact,
stolen and had been “replated”
with a VIN obtained from a salvaged vehicle,
which was also purchased by Wilson Motors.
The salvaged vehicle was the same make,
model, color and year as the stolen vehicle.
Rosario later sold the stolen vehicle to
a local couple.
Detective
LaMonica Cross and Deputy Attorney General
Paul D. Santangini were assigned to the
investigation. Santangini represented the
state at the sentencing.
Prosecutor
Brown noted that some important cases have
started with anonymous tips. People who
are concerned about insurance cheating and
have information about 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.
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