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For Immediate Release:  
For Further Information:
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December 7, 2006  
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791

Office of The Attorney General
- Stuart Rabner, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Gregory A. Paw, Director

Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
- Greta Gooden Brown, Insurance Fraud Prosecutor

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Police Officers Indicted in Alleged Insurance Fraud Conspiracy

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TRENTON - Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that two police officers have been indicted on charges of conspiracy, official misconduct and theft for allegedly filing false accident reports to further an insurance fraud scheme involving an auto body shop in Roselle.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, a state grand jury indicted Samad Abdel, 42, of Roselle, a Plainfield police detective, and John A. Smith, 37, of Columbus, a police officer with the Borough of Roselle. The officers were charged in a superseding indictment including seven other defendants who were indicted on Aug. 9. The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County late yesterday.

Abdel was charged with second-degree conspiracy, two counts of second-degree official misconduct, third-degree attempted theft by deception and third-degree theft by deception. Smith was charged with second-degree conspiracy, two counts of second-degree official misconduct and two counts of third-degree theft by deception.

The indictment alleges that Abdel, in his role as an officer with the Plainfield Police Department, filed two false police reports regarding automobile accidents that he knew were staged or fictitious so that fraudulent insurance claims could be submitted. The indictment alleges that Smith, in his role as an officer with the Roselle Police Department, also allegedly filed two false police reports regarding accidents that he knew were staged or fictitious in order to support fraudulent insurance claims.

“The indictment alleges that these two police officers abused the trust and authority of their positions by writing false accident reports to substantiate phony insurance claims,” said Attorney General Rabner. “We have zero tolerance for police officers who break the laws they are sworn to uphold.”

The new indictment includes the following charges against these additional defendants, which match the charges contained in the Aug. 9 indictment:

  • Marco Rebelo, 33, of Avenel, the owner and operator of Creative Auto Body at 409 East 1st Avenue in Roselle, is charged with conspiracy, theft by deception and misconduct by a corporate official, all in the second-degree, as well as third-degree tampering with public records or information;
  • Eli Vasquez, 34, currently incarcerated at Bayside State Prison, is charged with second-degree conspiracy and four counts of third-degree theft and attempted theft by deception;
  • Danny DaCosta, 26, of Elizabeth, is charged with second-degree conspiracy and two counts of third-degree theft by deception;
  • Rogerio Neves, 37, of Elizabeth, is charged with second-degree conspiracy and third-degree attempted theft by deception;
  • Rui Correia, 27, of Elizabeth, is charged with second-degree conspiracy and third-degree attempted theft by deception;
  • Charles T. Smith, 36, of Willingboro, is charged with third-degree theft by deception; and
  • Marquita Best, 32, of Linden, is charged with third-degree theft by deception.

Under state law, second-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a criminal fine of $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and a criminal fine of $15,000. In addition, the defendants may face civil insurance fraud fines. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“Staged car accidents are a particularly egregious form of insurance fraud because of the potential they present for injury or even death,” said Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown.“Today’s indictment demonstrates our resolve to vigorously investigate and prosecute this type of crime.”

The indictment alleges that the defendants reported a total of seven staged or fictitious car accidents between March 2001 and March 2003 and filed more than $117,800 in fraudulent automobile insurance property damage claims based on those phony accidents. The defendants allegedly provided false information for police accident reports from the Roselle and Plainfield Police Departments which were used to substantiate the auto accident insurance claims.

Claims were filed with Progressive Insurance Company, Great American Insurance Company, Clarendon National Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance Company and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Approximately $94,200 was paid by the insurance companies.

The case was assigned to Union County, where the defendants will be ordered to appear in court at a later date to answer the charges.

State Investigators Thomas Harrington and Lisa Egan, Civil Investigators Raymond Britton, Arthur Williams and Joseph Burro, Administrative Analyst Christine Runkle and Deputy Attorney General Joseph J. Egan Jr. handled the case.

Prosecutor Brown noted that people who 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.

>> Abdel and Smith Indictment (609k pdf) plug-in

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