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TRENTON
- First Assistant Attorney General Anne
Milgram and Division of Criminal Justice
Director Gregory A. Paw announced that a
Kentucky man has pleaded guilty as a result
of the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s
continuing investigation into a multi-state
stolen property ring and fencing operation.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Shaun R. Swinney, 29, of Louisville,
Ky., pleaded guilty yesterday before Superior
Court Judge Roger F. Mahon in Hunterdon
County to a criminal accusation which charged
him with third-degree receiving stolen property
and third-degree conspiracy.
At
the guilty plea hearing, Swinney admitted
that he took possession of and brought at
least a dozen pieces of stolen property
into New Jersey. The items included:
- two
1998 Kubota L-35 tractors and trailers
-
a 2001 Arctic Cat ATV
-
a 1990 Honda CBR 600 motorcycle
- a
1998 Honda CBR 600 F-3 motorcycle
-
a 2001 Yamaha R6 motorcycle
-
a 1997 Yamaha YZF motorcycle
-
two 2000 Sea Doo Bombardier jet ski
-
a 1987 BEC trailer, two 2000 Bobcat 753
skid steer loaders
-
a 2000 Polaris Magnum 325 ATV
-
a 2001 Bobcat 773 Turbo Limited Edition
skid steer loader, and Cronkhite trailer,
Model 2600
-
a 2000 Bobcat 863 skid steer loader
-
a MacLander trailer
-
a 2002 Kubota L-48 tractor
Swinney
admitted that he knew that all of this property
had been stolen as a result of a multi-state
theft ring operating in Kentucky and New
Jersey and elsewhere. The property was brought
to New Jersey so that it could be sold.
Some of the property was sold on eBay.
As
part of the ongoing investigation into this
multi-state theft and fencing ring, three
defendants were charged this month in separate
state grand jury indictments. James J. Sanocki,
28, who resided in both Frenchtown and Ewing,
Edwin Moorhouse, III, 29, of West Palm Beach,
Fla., and Laurence B. Conner, 27, of Glassboro,
were indicted for conspiracy and related
charges.
The
June 4 indictment against Sanocki alleges
that between 2001 and 2002, in New Jersey,
Kentucky, and elsewhere, Sanocki conspired
with other persons to knowingly receive
stolen property and sell, or fence, the
stolen property to others. The stolen items
allegedly include two tractors, nine motorcycles,
several trailers, a dump truck, various
other pieces of equipment including a Bobcat
skid steer loader, and several all-terrain
vehicles. The indictment further alleges
that Sanocki was involved in a separate
conspiracy to falsely report to the Coconut
Creek, Fla., Police Department that Moorhouse’s
2001 Honda Prelude had been stolen. The
Honda was later recovered in Kentucky.
A
separate June 4 indictment charged Moorhouse
with conspiring with Sanocki to give the
Prelude to a third individual involved in
the conspiracy in November 2001. According
to the indictment, Moorhouse allegedly reported
the car stolen the next day to the Coconut
Creek Police and subsequently filed a claim
with Allstate Insurance. As a result, Allstate
paid more than $23,000 to settle the fraudulent
claim. The indictment against Moorhouse
also alleged that he conspired with Sanocki
and assisted in the July 2002 theft of a
1996 Pontiac Trans-Am.
A
third June 4 indictment alleged that between
April 13 and June 10, 2002, Conner conspired
with Sanocki to fraudulently report the
theft of a Suzuki motorcycle to the New
Hope, Pa., Police Department. It is alleged
that a false theft claim was subsequently
submitted to the State Farm Insurance Company
with respect to the motorcycle.
Moorhouse
was arraigned on June 15 by Judge Mahon.
Sanocki and Conner are scheduled to be arraigned
by Judge Mahon on Aug. 10. The charges contained
in the indictments are merely accusations
and the three defendants named in the indictments
are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
State Investigator Vincent Gaeta and Deputy
Attorney General Michael A. Monahan were
assigned to the investigation. Monahan represented
the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
at the guilty plea hearing. The Jefferson
County Police Department in Louisville,
Ky. assisted the Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor in the investigation.
Swinney
is scheduled to appear before Judge Mahon
on Sept. 28 to be sentenced. Third-degree
crimes carry sentences of up to five years
in state prison, and a criminal fine of
up to $15,000. Swinney may also face civil
insurance fraud fines.
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 site 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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