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TRENTON
- Division of Criminal Justice Director
Gregory A. Paw announced that a Middlesex
County man was charged today for his role
in a $9,800 Social Security disability fraud.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Henri B. Walker, 49, of Perth Amboy,
was charged with third-degree theft by deception
and fourth-degree unsworn falsification
to authorities.
The
Middlesex County grand jury indictment alleges
that between Feb. 3 and Sept. 3, 2005, Walker
falsely advised the Social Security Administration
that he was disabled and unable to work.
Walker allegedly owned and operated T&W
Detail (aka Sparkle Detail, aka Sparkle
Delight), a car cleaning and detailing business
in Perth Amboy, at the same time he had
advised the Social Security Administration
that he was disabled and unable to work.
The
indictment, which was returned on June 13
and handed up in Superior Court in Middlesex
County today, alleges that Walker falsified
forms in connection with his Social Security
disability claim and that Social Security
paid him $9,841 in disability benefits when,
in fact, he was allegedly working at his
own business.
State Investigator Michael English, and
Deputy Attorney General Michael V. Troso
were assigned to the investigation. Troso
presented the case to the grand jury. The
Social Security Administration’s Office
of Inspector General greatly assisted with
the investigation.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Third-degree crimes carry a maximum
punishment of five years in state prison
and a criminal fine of $15,000, while crimes
of the fourth degree carry a maximum punishment
of 18 months in state prison and a fine
of $10,000.
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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