TRENTON
- Acting Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory
A. Paw announced that a Perth Amboy man
has been sentenced to state prison after
pleading guilty for his role in a ring that
engaged in auto thefts and insurance fraud.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Aneudy “Elvis” Ruiz,
25, of Perth Amboy, was ordered by Superior
Court Judge Scott J. Moynihan of Union County
to serve four years in state prison and
to pay $14,000 in fines and restitution.
The sentence is pursuant to Ruiz’s
June 28 guilty plea to receiving stolen
property and conspiracy to commit insurance
fraud, both second-degree offenses. The
judge sentenced Ruiz to four years in prison
on each charge, with the terms to be served
concurrently.
An
investigation by the Division of Criminal
Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
revealed that Ruiz’ auto theft ring
was involved in thefts of over 20 cars worth
over $800,000.
At
the guilty plea hearing before Judge Moynihan,
Ruiz admitted that between October 2004
and January 2006, he was involved in a conspiracy
with other persons to steal cars and accept
owner “give ups” of vehicles
so fraudulent auto insurance claims could
be submitted. A “give up” occurs
when the owner of a car voluntarily gives
it to another so that a false theft claim
can be submitted and the car can be chopped
for parts or retagged with a new vehicle
identification number and sold.
Ruiz
admitted that while working as a salesman
at Lincoln Mercury/Mazda of the Sansone
Auto Mall on Route 1 in Avenel, he stole
spare ignition keys and used them to steal
vehicles from the dealership. Additionally,
Ruiz admitted to being involved in three
owner “give ups” where he took
cars from their owners so the owners could
report them stolen and submit phony insurance
theft claims. Ruiz admitted to selling eight
cars stolen from the auto dealership for
a total of $18,000 and selling the three
give-up cars for a total of $1,500.
“Frequently
insurance fraud investigations lead to evidence
of stolen automobiles and alteration of
vehicle identification numbers,” said
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown. “This particular investigation
uncovered a large auto theft ring. Our investigation
is ongoing and charges against additional
persons are likely.”
Deputy
Attorney General Jacqueline D. Smith represented
the state at the sentencing. The investigation
was conducted by State Investigators Jeffrey
Lorman and Jarek Pyrzanowski and Civil Investigator
Gary Miller. Assisting were State Investigators
Luis Cruz, Wendy Wylie, Joseph Luccarelli
and former State Investigator Karen Rivera,
as well as Donald Cavallo of the National
Insurance Crime Bureau. American Road, Geico
and Auto One Insurance Companies also assisted
in the investigation.
Prosecutor
Brown 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 1-877-55-FRAUD or visiting the Web
at www.njinsurancefraud.org.
State regulations permit an award to be
paid to an eligible person who provides
information that leads to an arrest, prosecution
and conviction for insurance fraud.
The
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was
established by the Automobile Insurance
Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is
the centralized state agency that investigates
and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance
fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.
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