TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Acting
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi
announced that a former New York City insurance
producer was sentenced to state prison today
for defrauding three insurance companies in
a life insurance scheme.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi,
Pape Michael Seck, 41, formerly of Jersey
City, was sentenced to seven years in state
prison by Superior Court Judge Patrick J.
Arre in Hudson County. Seck was also ordered
to pay $492,128 in restitution. The sentence
was based on Seck’s Oct. 17 guilty
plea to an accusation which charged him
with second-degree insurance fraud and two
counts of second-degree theft by deception.
In
pleading guilty, Seck, who was an insurance
producer formerly licensed in New York and
New Jersey, admitted that between Nov. 12,
2006 and June 4, 2008, he knowingly made
fraudulent or misleading statements including
fraudulent pedigree, financial and medical
documentation in support of seven life insurance
policy applications. The applications were
for three $3 million ING/ReliaStar Life
Insurance Company/Security Life of Denver
Insurance Company (“ING”) life
insurance policies, two $7 million ING life
insurance policies, a $5 million MetLife
life insurance policy and a $5 million Union
Central Life Insurance Company life insurance
policy for an individual named Mansour Seck.
Seck
also admitted that between May 17, 2007
and June 20, 2007, he fraudulently obtained
property from ING in the form of commissions
on the $7 million life insurance policy.
Seck fraudulently obtained $280,230 in commissions
for this policy.
Additionally,
Seck admitted that between October 16, 2007
and December 4, 2007, he fraudulently obtained
property from Miller & Schrader, P.A.
in the form of a $61,898 premium reimbursement
and a $150,000 unsecured loan on the $5
million MetLife life insurance policy.
On
June 7, 2010, Seck was sentenced to three
years in state prison, ordered to forfeit
his New Jersey insurance producer’s
license and ordered to pay a $10,000 civil
insurance fraud fine. The sentence was based
on Seck’s April 12, 2010 guilty plea
to an accusation charging him with two counts
of second-degree insurance fraud. In that
case, Seck admitted that between May 22,
2008 and July 27, 2009, he submitted applications
containing fraudulent information to Prudential
Life Insurance Company and Aviva Life Insurance
Company for $7 million life insurance policies.
He was paroled in November 2010 and arrested
on the present charges on Dec. 15, 2010.
Deputy
Attorney General Nicole D. Rizzolo and Detective
L. Cross were assigned to the investigation.
Rizzolo represented the Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing. Acting
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi thanked
ING, MetLife, Union Central Life Insurance
Company, SSA-OIG, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, MVC, the United States Department
of State, the United States Visa Office
and the State of New York Insurance Department
for their assistance in the investigation.
Acting
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi 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.