Global Navigation
Office of The Attorney General
The State of New Jersey Office of The Attorney General (Dept. of Law & Public Safety) The State of New Jersey NJ Home Services A to Z Departments/Agencies OAG Frequently Asked Questions
Services A to Z Departments/Agencies OAG Frequently Asked Questions
OAG Home
OAG Contact
Back to News Releases
OAG Home Attorney General's Biography
Attorney General's Biography
spacer spacer spacer
 
spacer spacer spacer
spacer spacer spacer
For Immediate Release:
For Further Information:
spacer spacer spacer

April 12, 2010

Office of The Attorney General
- Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Stephen J. Taylor, Director
Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
- Riza Dagli, Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor

Media Inquiries-
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925

spacer
spacer spacer spacer
spacer

Union County Residents Charged With Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft

spacer
spacer spacer spacer
spacer

TRENTON - Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced .that an Elizabeth man has been indicted in a scheme to steal other people’s identities and engage in credit card fraud.

According to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli, Andres A. Correa (also known as Frank Perec), 29, of Elizabeth, was charged late Friday (April 9) with second-degree trafficking in personal identifying information of another, second-degree identity theft, second-degree conspiracy, and second-degree tampering with witnesses and informants. Correa was also charged with third-degree attempted theft by deception, third-degree credit card fraud, and five counts of third-degree theft by deception.

The Union County grand jury indictment alleges that between July 1 and Oct. 1, 2008, Correa provided electronic skimming devices to an employee of a Delta gas station located in Roselle Park. The skimming devices were used to obtain and store electronically encoded information that had been captured from the magnetic strip of payment cards belonging to customers of the Delta gas station, without the knowledge of the customers. Correa allegedly paid the gas station employee for each payment card account number that had been collected and stored within the skimmer device.

The indictment further alleges that Correa knowingly distributed or possessed eleven fraudulent credit cards. Each of the cards was allegedly “re-encoded,” which means that they were digitally altered so that the account information embedded in the magnetic strip on the back did not match the account embossed on the face of the cards. As a result, the altered credit card could be used by the person whose name was on the front of the card, while the charges were billed to an unsuspecting victim. An investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined that the victims in the alleged scheme were customers of the Delta gas station whose personal identifying information had been captured in the skimming devices.

It is also alleged that Correa knowingly impersonated another individual, using that person’s identity and the re-encoded credit cards to defraud several businesses in northern New Jersey, including Home Depot, Toys R’ Us and Linden Liquors, of a total of more than $15,000.

Finally, the indictment alleges that on November 27, 2008, Correa threatened a potential witness in the investigation in order to cause the potential witness to withhold information or testimony regarding the investigation.

Two other persons previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced in the ongoing investigation. Luis F. Marte, 37, whose last known address was in Union Township, pleaded guilty in April 2009 to trafficking in personal identifying information of another and identity theft. He was sentenced to 333 days in county jail as a condition of a five-year term of probation.

Marte’s nephew, Carlos DeJesus, 21, whose last known address was in Elizabeth, pleaded guilty in April 2009 to trafficking in personal identifying information of another. DeJesus was sentenced to 364 days in county jail as a condition of a five-year term of probation.

Detective Jarek Pyrzanowski, Analyst Christina Runkle, and Deputy Attorney General John J. Higgins were assigned to the investigation. Deputy Attorney General Higgins presented the cases to the Union County grand jury. Acting Fraud Prosecutor Dagli thanked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, the Roselle Park Police Department and the Linden Police Department for their assistance.

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.

Acting Fraud Prosecutor Dagli 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.

###

spacer
spacer spacer spacer
spacer
 
 
Contact OAG About OAG
OAG News OAG Frequently Asked Questions
OAG Library Employment
OAG Grants Proposed Rules
OAG History OAG Services A-Z
OAG Agencies / Programs / Units
Other News Pages Otras Noticias en Español Division of NJ State Police Division of Law News Governor's Office News Division of Highway Traffic Safety News Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Juvenile Justice Commission News Division on Civil Rights News Division of Consumer Affairs News Division of Criminal Justice News Election Law Enforcement Commission Division of Gaming Enforcement News
NJ State Police News Governor's Office News Division of Highway Traffic Safety News Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Juvenile Justice Commission News Division on Civil Rights News Division of Consumer Affairs News Division of Criminal Justice News Election Law Enforcement Commission Division of Elections News Division of Gaming Enforcement News Office of Government Integrity News

free PDF plugin

NJ State Police News Governor's Office News Division of Highway Traffic Safety News Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Juvenile Justice Commission News Division on Civil Rights News Division of Consumer Affairs News Division of Criminal Justice News Election Law Enforcement Commission Division of Elections News Division of Gaming Enforcement News Office of Government Integrity News
   
Contact Us | Privacy Notice | Legal Statement | Accessibility Statement
NJ Home Logo
Departmental: OAG Home | Contact OAG | About OAG | OAG News | OAG FAQs
Statewide: NJ Home | Services A to Z | Departments/Agencies | FAQs
Copyright © State of New Jersey
This page is maintained by OAG Communications. Comments/Questions: email or call 609-292-4925
OAG Home OAG Home NJ State Police News Governor's Office News Division of Highway Traffic Safety News Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Juvenile Justice Commission News Division on Civil Rights News Division of Consumer Affairs News Division of Criminal Justice News Election Law Enforcement Commission Division of Elections News Division of Gaming Enforcement News Office of Government Integrity News