TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a North Jersey woman was
sentenced today for falsely reporting that
her car had been stolen. Two of her co-defendants
were previously sentenced.
The
charges stemmed from an ongoing investigation
into an automobile "give up" scheme
in which its leader, Jose Torres, 37, of
Paterson, was previously sentenced to eight
years in state prison with five years of
parole ineligibility.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza
Dagli, the three defendants were sentenced
based on their Nov. 24 guilty pleas to separate
Sept. 23, 2009 state grand jury indictments.
Gladys
Ramos, 55, of Paterson, was sentenced to
two years probation and ordered to pay $2,801
in restitution by Superior Court Judge Philip
Maenza in Morris County. Ramos had previously
signed a civil consent order in the amount
of $5,000. In pleading guilty to theft by
deception, Ramos admitted that on Oct. 5,
2006, she 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. Ramos submitted a false
vehicle theft claim to Allstate Insurance
Company and illegally received $19,600 from
Allstate.
On
Jan. 8, Mark McCaffrey, 31, of Landing,
was sentenced to three years probation,
ordered to perform 75 hours of community
service and to pay $10,213 in restitution
by Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto
in Morris County. McCaffrey had previously
signed a civil consent order in the amount
of $5,000. In pleading guilty to theft by
deception, McCaffrey admitted that on Sept.
9, 2006, he 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. 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.
Also
on Jan. 8, Judge Ahto sentenced Caseem Gresham,
37, of Saddle Brook, to three years probation,
and ordered the defendant to perform 75
hours of community service. Gresham had
previously signed a civil consent order
in the amount of $5,000. In addition, Gresham
was ordered to pay $8,805 in restitution.
In pleading guilty to insurance fraud, Gresham
admitted that on Oct. 30, 2006 he 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.
Gresham subsequently submitted a fraudulent
affidavit to First Trenton Companies/Travelers
Insurance Company claiming that his vehicle
had been stolen. As a result, Gresham received
$11,400 from Travelers to which he was not
entitled.
Detective Vincent Gaeta and Deputy Attorney
General John J. Higgins were assigned to
the investigation. Higgins prosecuted the
cases and represented the Office of the
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencings.
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.
Acting
Insurance 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 at 1
877 55 FRAUD, or visiting the Web
site at www.NJInsurancefraud.org
." State regulations permit a reward
to be paid to an eligible person who provides
information that leads to an arrest, prosecution
and conviction for insurance fraud.
The
Office of the 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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