TRENTON
- Attorney General Zulima V. Farber and
Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory
A. Paw announced that a Passaic County woman
and her husband were sentenced today for
attempting to fraudulently collect more
than $23,000 in automobile insurance Personal
Injury Protection (PIP) benefits.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Virginia B. Kinion, 66, of Paterson,
was sentenced to three years probation and
ordered to pay a $10,000 civil insurance
fraud fine by Passaic County Superior Court
Judge Ernest M. Caposela. Kinion pleaded
guilty on April 13 to a charge of third-degree
health care claims fraud, which was contained
in a June 29, 2005 Passaic County grand
jury indictment.
Kinion’s
husband, John Knight, 49, was sentenced
to two years probation and ordered to pay
a $5,000 civil insurance fraud fine. Knight
pleaded guilty on March 24 before Judge
Caposela to fourth-degree falsifying records.
At her guilty plea hearing before Judge
Caposela, Kinion admitted that she submitted
a false automobile insurance policy application
and false PIP claims to the Clarendon National
Insurance Company after being involved in
an automobile accident. An investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice - Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined
that, at the time of the accident, neither
Kinion nor Knight had automobile insurance.
Kinion acknowledged that she applied for
and received automobile insurance issued
by Clarendon National Insurance Company
on June 7 - a day after the motor vehicle
accident. The investigation further revealed
that Kinion denied involvement in any accidents
during the prior 36 months.
Upon
receiving automobile insurance coverage,
Kinion and Knight filed PIP health-care
claims totaling more than $23,100 with the
Clarendon National Insurance Co. Kinion
admitted that on June 10, three days after
the applying for insurance, she falsely
reported to the Paterson Police Department
that the accident occurred on June 7. The
investigation determined that Kinion later
returned to the Paterson Police Department
to revise her report, adding that Knight
was a passenger when, in fact, Knight was
the driver at the time of the accident.
Clarendon National Insurance denied both
claims and referred the matter to the Division
of Criminal Justice - Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor.
State
Investigator Wendy Wylie, Civil Investigator
Eileen Bellantine, and Deputy Attorney General
Frank L. Holstein coordinated the investigation.
Holstein represented the state at the sentencing.
|