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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced
that a Salem County man has been sentenced
for filing a false vehicle theft claim.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, John Jackson, 41, of Salem, was ordered
on Friday (April 24) by Superior Court Judge
William F. Forester in Salem County to serve
180 days in county jail as a condition of
two years probation and to pay restitution
in the amount of $1,100. Jackson’s sentence
was based on his guilty plea to insurance
fraud, a charge contained in an Oct. 29, 2008
Salem County grand jury indictment.
In
pleading guilty on Dec. 1, Jackson admitted
that between Jan. 6 and March 6, 2006, he
submitted a fraudulent vehicle theft claim,
valued at $32,000, to Consumer First Insurance
Company alleging that his 2006 Hummer had
been stolen in Philadelphia. An investigation
determined that on Jan. 6, 2006, Jackson fraudulently
reported the vehicle stolen so he would no
longer have to make monthly payments on the
Hummer. The investigation further determined
that the Hummer was recovered by Philadelphia
police shortly after it was reported “stolen”.
Detective
Hector Montano, Civil Investigator Frank Crosson,
and Deputy Attorney General Candy Cure were
assigned to the investigation. Cure represented
the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at
the sentencing.
This
case was referred to OIFP by the Special Investigative
Unit of Consumers First Insurance Company
which initially uncovered the fraud, denied
the claim, and assisted OIFP in the investigation.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanked Consumers
First for its assistance in this matter.
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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