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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Division
of Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that five North Jersey residents
were charged today in separate state grand
jury indictments for falsely reporting the
theft of their cars.
The
charges stem from an ongoing investigation
into an automobile “give up” scheme
in which its leader, Jose Torres, was previously
sentenced to eight years in state prison with
five years of parole ineligibility.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza
Dagli, the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
obtained the following indictments:
State
v. Jose Pujols. Pujols, 37, of Paterson,
was charged with second-degree insurance fraud,
third- and fourth-degree theft by deception,
third-degree tampering with public records
or information and fourth-degree falsifying
records. The indictment alleges that on Sept.
30, 2006, Pujols reported to the Paterson
Police Department that his 2000 Honda Accord
had been stolen from in front of his house
in Paterson and that he had last seen it around
8:45pm on Sept. 29, 2006. An investigation
determined that the vehicle had not been stolen
but had allegedly been purchased as part of
an undercover law enforcement operation around
1:30 p.m. on Sept. 28, 2006 in Dover.
The indictment further alleges that Pujols
filed a fraudulent vehicle theft claim with
Geico Insurance Company over the phone on
Sept. 30, 2006. On Oct. 17, 2006, Pujols allegedly
completed an affidavit, falsely claiming that
his vehicle was stolen along with personal
items and baseball equipment inside the car.
He subsequently submitted the false affidavit
to Geico. As a result of the false claim,
Pujols allegedly received $8,265 for the Honda
and $200 for the personal items in the car,
knowing that neither the car nor the personal
items had been stolen.
State v. Mark P. McCaffrey.
McCaffrey, 29, of Landing, was charged with
insurance fraud, theft by deception and tampering
with public records or information (all third-degree)
as well as fourth-degree falsifying records.
The indictment alleges that on Sept. 9, 2006,
McCaffrey falsely reported to the Roxbury
Police Department that his 1999 Lincoln Navigator
had been stolen when, in fact, the vehicle
had been sold to undercover detectives on
Sept. 5, 2006. According to the indictment,
McCaffrey submitted a fraudulent affidavit
to Geico Insurance Company claiming that his
vehicle was stolen and received $13,000 from
Geico to which he was not entitled.
State
v. Natividad Lopez. Lopez, 33, of
Passaic, was charged with insurance fraud,
theft by deception, tampering with public
records or information (all third-degree)
as well as fourth-degree falsifying records.
The indictment alleges that Lopez falsely
reported to the Passaic Police Department,
and reported in a fraudulent affidavit to
the IFA Insurance Company, that her 2000 Jaguar
S had been stolen on Sept. 1, 2006. In fact,
the vehicle had been sold to undercover detectives
on Aug. 23, 2006. As a result of the alleged
fraud, IFA Insurance paid the lien holder
of the Jaguar $16,400 for the car.
State
v. Caseem Gresham. Gresham, 36, of
Saddle Brook, was charged with insurance fraud,
theft by deception, tampering with public
records or information (all third-degree),
and fourth-degree falsifying records. The
indictment alleges that on Oct. 30, 2006 Gresham
falsely reported to the Garfield Police Department
that his 2005 Honda Accord had been stolen,
when in fact the vehicle had been sold to
undercover detectives on Oct. 26, 2006. The
indictment charges that Gresham subsequently
submitted a fraudulent affidavit to First
Trenton Companies/Travelers Insurance Company
claiming that his vehicle had been stolen.
As a result, Gresham allegedly received $11,400
from Travelers to which he was not entitled.
State
v. Gladys Ramos. Ramos, 26, of Paterson,
was charged with insurance fraud, theft by
deception, and tampering with public records
or information (all third-degree). It is charged
that on Oct. 5, 2006, Ramos fraudulently reported
to the Paterson Police Department that her
2006 Chevrolet Equinox had been stolen when,
in fact, the vehicle had been sold to undercover
detectives on Sept. 29, 2006. The indictment
further alleges that Ramos submitted a false
vehicle theft claim to Allstate Insurance
Company and illegally received $19,600 from
Allstate.
“Too
many people are willing to lie to the police
and to insurance companies, claiming their
car was stolen in order to avoid car payments,
repair bills or expensive end-of-lease payments,”
Acting Fraud Prosecutor Dagli said. “The
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor will
continue to investigate and prosecute automobile
“give up” cases.”
Detective Vincent Gaeta and Deputy Attorney
General John J. Higgins were assigned to the
investigation into this case. Higgins presented
the cases to the state grand jury. Acting
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Dagli thanked Geico
Insurance Company, IFA Insurance Company,
First Trenton Companies/Travelers Insurance
Company and the Allstate Insurance Company
for their assistance in the investigations.
The indictments are merely accusations and
the defendants are presumed innocent until
proven guilty. Second-degree crimes carry
a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison
and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years
in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000,
while fourth-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of 18 months in state prison and
a fine of up to $10,000.
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