Crystie Anthony, 37, of Paterson, was sentenced on Friday (May 11) to 30 days in county jail as a condition of two years probation and ordered to pay $483 in restitution by Superior Court Judge Joseph P. Donohue in Union County. Judge Donohue also ordered Anthony to perform 334 days of community service. Anthony’s sentence was based on her May 4 guilty plea to third-degree theft by deception, a charge contained in a state grand jury indictment that was returned on Oct. 7, 2011.

In pleading guilty, Anthony admitted that between Nov. 30 and Dec. 14, 2010, she arranged to fraudulently create multiple checks using High Point Insurance Company’s routing number and checking account number. Four of the checks were imprinted with the name Anneesh Robinson, and nine of the checks were imprinted with the name Zyanya Wright.

Robinson and Wright, along with another co-defendant, Hassonah Higgins, were also named in the 2011 indictment. On December 21, 2011, Robinson, Wright and Higgins were admitted into the Pre-trial Intervention Program and each ordered to pay $1,056 in restitution.

As a result of the fraud, the defendants obtained or attempted to obtain over $4,500 worth of merchandise drawn on the High Point Insurance Company’s checking account, knowing that the checks were counterfeit.

Deputy Attorney General Kathleen Doran represented the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing. Deputy Attorney General Joan M. Burke and Detective Terrence Buie were assigned to the investigation. Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi thanked High Point Insurance for referring the matter to the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor and for its assistance in the investigation.