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TRENTON - Attorney General
Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director
Stephen J. Taylor announced that a Morris
County man was sentenced to state prison
today for falsely reporting that his car
had been stolen.
According to Acting Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli, James Sgambati,
31, of Parsippany, was sentenced to three
years in state prison and was ordered to
pay restitution to New Jersey Manufacturers
by Superior Court Judge David H. Ironson
in Morris County. The sentence was based
on Sgambati’s guilty plea to third-degree
insurance fraud, a charge contained in an
April 28 Morris County grand jury indictment.
The indictment stemmed from
an ongoing investigation into an automobile
“give up” scheme. The leader
of the scheme, Jose Torres, 37, of Paterson,
was previously sentenced to eight years
in state prison, with five years of parole
ineligibility.
In pleading guilty on Aug.
4, Sgambati admitted that between Sept.
12 and Oct. 25, 2006, he falsely reported
to the Paterson Police Department that his
2006 Dodge Charger had been stolen. An investigation
by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
determined that Sgambati subsequently obtained
$31,466 from New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance
Company by filing a false affidavit of vehicle
theft.
Lieutenant Vincent Gaeta,
Analyst Kathleen Ratliff, and former Deputy
Attorney General John J. Higgins were assigned
to the investigation. Deputy Attorney General
Cheryl A. Maccaroni represented the Office
of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the
sentencing. Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Dagli thanked the Mercury Insurance Group,
New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company,
Allstate Insurance Company and State Farm
Insurance Company for their assistance in
this investigation.
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