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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Deborah Gramiccioni announced
that a Union County man has pleaded guilty
to fraudulently depositing or cashing approximately
$24,000 in disability checks made payable
to a family member after she had died.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Darin L. Still, 39, of Rahway, pleaded
guilty yesterday before Superior Court Judge
Stuart Peim in Union County to third-degree
theft by deception. The charge was contained
in an April 11 Union County grand jury indictment.
Under
the plea agreement, the state will recommend
a sentence of probation conditioned on Still
serving 364 days in the county jail. Still
is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 5.
He also may face civil insurance fraud fines.
Still
admitted that between June 25, 2003, and
Nov. 3, 2005, he falsely cashed or deposited
disability insurance claim checks made payable
to another person. The investigation determined
that Still’s aunt received disability
checks from Unum Provident Life and Casualty
Insurance Company pursuant to a disability
claim she had made. Still admitted that,
after the woman died in May 2003, he failed
to notify Unum of the death, and then fraudulently
cashed or deposited 30 disability checks,
each worth approximately $821, payable to
the aunt. As a result, Still allegedly collected
approximately $24,630 in claims to which
he was not entitled.
Detective Abraham Aquino, Civil Investigator
Kenneth Frazee, and Deputy Attorney General
James F. Flanagan were assigned to the investigation
into this case. Flanagan represented the
state at the guilty plea hearing.
This
case was referred to OIFP by the Special
Investigative Unit of Unum Provident Insurance
Company, formerly known as the Provident
Life and Casualty Insurance Company, which
initially uncovered the fraud and assisted
OIFP in the investigation. Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor Brown thanked Unum Provident
for its assistance in this matter.
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