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TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Monmouth County insurance agent was
sentenced to state prison today for stealing
more than $346,000 in insurance sales commissions
and issuing a bad check.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Guy Cardinale, 47, of Fair Haven,
was ordered by Superior Court Judge Anthony
J. Mellaci Jr. in Monmouth County to serve
five years in state prison. He also surrendered
his insurance producer’s license and
was ordered to pay remaining restitution
of $71,000 to Canada Life Assurance Company
and $28,000 to Transamerica Insurance &
Investment Group. The sentence follows Cardinale’s
Nov. 29 guilty plea to five counts of theft
by deception contained in a July 2006 state
grand jury indictment. Cardinale also pleaded
guilty at that time to an unrelated criminal
accusation which charged him with third-degree
issuing bad checks.
At the guilty plea hearing before Judge
Mellaci, Cardinale, who was employed as
an agent for the Canada Life Assurance Company,
admitted that between July and December
2002, he submitted four life insurance policy
applications and supporting records to create
the impression that customers had purchased
policies when, in fact, they had not. Cardinale
submitted the fraudulent documents in order
to collect more than $346,025 in up-front
commissions on the four fictitious sales.
Cardinale also admitted that between July
25 and Aug. 28, 2006, he issued a check
in the amount of $66,488 to Transamerica
in connection with the purchase of a life
insurance policy on his own life. The check
was twice dishonored by Sovereign Bank.
“It
is particularly disturbing when licensed
insurance agents engage in fraud,”
Prosecutor Brown said. “We will continue
to vigorously prosecute those involved in
this type of criminal activity.”
State
Investigator Robert Stemmer and Deputy Attorney
General Nicole D. Rizzolo handled the case.
The Department of Banking and Insurance
routinely assists the Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor with the investigation
and prosecution of licensed insurance agents.
Prosecutor Brown noted that people can report
insurance fraud anonymously by calling the
toll-free hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD
or visiting www.NJInsuranceFraud.org.
State regulations permit payment of an award
to an eligible person who provides information
leading to an arrest, prosecution and conviction.
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