TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced
that a Camden County man was sentenced today
for attempting to steal more than $68,000
in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Vito Manzella, 25, whose last known
address was in Lindenwold, was ordered by
Superior Court Judge Christine Allen-Jackson
in Gloucester County to serve two years of
probation and pay $3,241 in restitution to
New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company.
If Manzella fails to properly complete his
probation, he will be required to serve 180
days in the county jail. Manzella’s
sentence is based on his guilty plea to insurance
fraud, a charge contained in a February 2008
indictment.
At the Feb. 23, 2009 guilty plea hearing,
Manzella admitted that between March 28 and
May 2, 2005, he committed insurance fraud
by fraudulently submitting claims for $68,819
in PIP benefits to New Jersey Indemnity Insurance
Company. Manzella admitted that following
an automobile accident in Berlin Borough,
he falsified an affidavit stating that he
lived in Mullica Hill at the time of the accident
with a family member who had automobile insurance.
Manzella admitted that, in fact, he did not
live in Mullica Hill at the time. He lived
in Camden County with a family member who
did not have automobile insurance. PIP benefits
provide coverage for medical bills, lost wages,
and essential services for persons who are
injured in automobile accidents. These benefits
are provided to persons who have the appropriate
automobile insurance or who reside in a house
in which the residents are licensed drivers
and have the appropriate automobile insurance.
Detective
Christina Fiscella, Civil Investigator William
McGough, and Supervising Deputy Attorney General
Scott Patterson were assigned to the investigation.
Deputy Attorney General Paul Santangini represented
the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
at the sentencing. This case was referred
to OIFP by the Special Investigative Unit
of the New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance
Group, which initially uncovered the fraud
and assisted OIFP in the investigation. Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanked the New Jersey
Indemnity Insurance Company of the New Jersey
Manufacturers Insurance Group for its assistance
in this matter.
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