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TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that a New York City woman has been indicted
for her alleged role in an insurance fraud
scheme involving applications for multi-million
dollar life insurance policies.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza
Dagli, Beverly Stewart (also known as Angela
Sims), 61, of New York, N.Y., an insurance
agent formerly licensed in New Jersey and
who is currently licensed as an insurance
agent in New York, was charged with second-degree
conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, second-degree
attempted theft by deception and two counts
of third-degree insurance fraud.
The
Hudson County grand jury indictment alleges
that between May 22, 2008 and July 27, 2009,
Stewart conspired with Pape Michael Seck,
40, of New York, to commit insurance fraud
by creating three documents on “Sims,
Stewart and Weis, PC” letterhead in
which Stewart, as “Angela Sims,”
purported to be the financial advisor and
accountant of Ambassador Mansour Seck.
It
is alleged that, in the first document,
Stewart falsely claimed that Mansour Seck
had over $10 million in assets and would
have no difficulty paying $300,000 in insurance
premiums. The indictment alleges that, in
the second document, Stewart falsely claimed
that Mansour Seck had real estate holdings
totaling over $7 million as of January 2009,
had cash on hand totaling $2.6 million and
a 2008 unearned income of approximately
$670,000. It is further alleged that, in
the third document, Stewart falsely claimed
that Mansour Seck owned real estate in Washington,
D.C., valued in excess of $4 million, real
estate in Jersey City, valued in excess
of $1.3 million and real estate in Upper
Marlboro, Maryland, valued at approximately
$200,000 to $300,000. The three fraudulent
documents were allegedly created so that
Pape Michael Seck, an insurance agent, could
submit applications to Prudential Life Insurance
and Aviva Life and Annuity Company for multi-million
dollar life insurance policies for Mansour
Seck.
The
indictment also alleges that Beverly Stewart,
acting as Angela Sims, was not Mansour Seck’s
accountant and financial advisor and she
knew that Mansour Seck did not have the
assets, real estate and cash on hand stated
in the fraudulent documents.
In
June, Pape Michael Seck was sentenced to
three years in state prison by Superior
Court Judge Joseph V. Isabella in Hudson
County. Seck was also ordered to forfeit
his license as an insurance agent in New
Jersey and pay a $10,000 civil insurance
fraud fine. The sentence was based on Seck’s
April 12 guilty plea to an accusation charging
him with two counts of second-degree insurance
fraud.
Detective
L. Cross, Civil Investigator James Stavola
and Deputy Attorneys General Norma R. Evans,
Deputy Chief Counsel for the Office of the
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, and Nicole D.
Rizzolo were assigned to the investigation
into this case. Rizzolo presented the case
to the Hudson County grand jury. Acting
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Dagli thanked
Prudential Life Insurance Company and Aviva
Life and Annuity Company for their assistance
in the investigation.
The
indictment, which was handed up yesterday,
is merely an accusation and the defendant
is 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.
The state will request that Stewart, who
has an expired New Jersey insurance producer’s
license, will be required to forfeit her
right to renew her license. Stewart may
also face civil insurance fraud fines.
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