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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that three North Jersey residents
were named today in a 25-count indictment
for their alleged roles in a theft ring
that targeted luxury cars.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Saladine Grant, 33, of Newark, was
charged with being the leader of an auto
theft trafficking network; four counts of
theft by unlawful taking; five counts of
receiving stolen property; four counts of
fencing; and one count of conspiracy. All
of those charges are in the second degree.
Grant was also charged with five counts
of third-degree receiving stolen property
and three counts of third-degree fencing.
Birrel
T. Smith, 36, of Piscataway, was charged
with theft by unlawful taking; receiving
stolen property; and conspiracy, all in
the second-degree. Smith’s girlfriend
Michelle Laboy, 29, also of Piscataway,
was charged with second-degree theft by
unlawful taking; second-degree receiving
stolen property; and third-degree hindering
apprehension or prosecution of another person.
The Union County grand jury indictment alleges
that between December 2006 and July 2007,
Grant, as the leader of an auto theft trafficking
network, engaged in the theft of 25 luxury
automobiles, including Audis, BMWs and Infinitis.
It is charged that Grant allegedly sold
several of the vehicles to undercover investigators
assigned to the Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor. Smith and Laboy allegedly assisted
Grant in the theft of many of the cars,
including eight Audis.
The
indictment further alleges that Laboy hindered
the apprehension of Smith. It is alleged
that Laboy made false statements to a law
enforcement officer about Smith.
As
part of the ongoing investigation into the
ring, approximately 25 reported stolen vehicles,
valued at a total of more than $1.5 million,
have been recovered by the Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor. The majority of the 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.
Detectives Jarek Pyrzanowski, Amy Carson
and Jeffrey Lorman, and Deputy Attorney
General John J. Higgins were assigned to
the investigation into this case. Higgins
presented the case to the Union County grand
jury.
Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanked the Perth
Amboy Police Department; the Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey; the New Jersey
State Police; the Edison Township Police
Department; and the Piscataway Police Department
for their assistance in the investigation.
“Frequently insurance fraud investigations
lead to evidence of stolen automobiles and
other vehicles, as well as owner initiated
give ups,” Prosecutor Brown said.
“This office will continue to follow
evidence of fraud and theft wherever it
leads.”
The indictment is merely an accusation and
the defendants are presumed innocent until
proven guilty. Second-degree crimes carry
a maximum sentence of 10 years in state
prison and a criminal fine of $150,000,
while third-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of five years in state prison and
a criminal fine of $15,000.
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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