|
TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that an Ocean County man has pleaded guilty
to fraudulently obtaining more than $16,000
in disability insurance benefits to which
he was not entitled.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza
Dagli, Thomas Gallo, 55, of Bayville, pleaded
guilty yesterday (Dec. 7) before Superior
Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels in Ocean County
to an accusation which charged him with
third-degree theft by deception.
Judge Daniels scheduled sentencing for Feb.
4. Under the plea agreement, the state will
recommend that Gallo be sentenced to probation.
New Jersey law provides that there is a
presumption against any sentence of incarceration
for a person convicted of a third-degree
crime who has not previously been convicted
of an indictable offense.
In pleading guilty, Gallo, a truck driver
for Freehold Cartage, Inc., admitted that
between Feb. 5 and Oct. 6, 2008, following
an injury at work, he obtained $16,821.84
in fraudulent disability insurance claims
from Freehold Cartage, Inc., even though
he was working for another company and therefore
not entitled to receive temporary disability
benefits from Freehold Cartage.
Detective Natalie Brotherston and Deputy
Attorney General Cheryl A. Maccaroni were
assigned to the investigation. Maccaroni
represented the Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing.
Acting Prosecutor Dagli thanked Freehold
Cartage, Inc. and ACE America/ESIS for their
assistance in the investigation.
### |
