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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Mercer County auto body repair shop
owner and three of his employees were indicted
today for their roles in an auto repair
insurance scam.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Robert Buckingham, 51, of Millstone,
the owner/operator of Robert Christopher
Collision, an auto body repair facility
which does business on Kuser Road in Hamilton
Township, and Paul Failla, 53, of Morganville,
one of Buckingham’s employees, were
indicted by a state grand jury on second-degree
charges of conspiracy and insurance fraud,
as well as two counts of third-degree theft
by deception. Buckingham’s corporation,
Robert Christopher Associates Inc., was
also indicted on the same charges. Two additional
employees, Hector Henriquez, 32, of Perth
Amboy, and John Yeachshein, 43, of Manalapan,
were charged with conspiracy to commit insurance
fraud, insurance fraud and theft by deception,
all third-degree offenses.
The indictment alleges that between April
12, 2005 and July 21, 2006, the defendants
conspired to submit false automobile insurance
repair claims to insurance companies. The
defendants allegedly billed insurance companies
for auto repair work that they failed to
complete. In addition, the defendants allegedly
billed insurance companies for new auto
repair parts when they utilized old parts,
and billed the insurance companies to replace
auto parts when they merely repaired the
damaged auto parts.
According
to the indictment, the defendants also enhanced
damage to cars brought to the repair facility
so as to increase the amount of auto insurance
repair claims. It is alleged that, in one
instance, Buckingham directed his employees/co-defendants
to repair the frame of an automobile by
welding it when he knew that the insurance
company expected a new frame.
The
automobiles that were involved in the scheme
included:
- a
1999 Lexus GS 300
-
a 1999 Toyota Camry
- a
2004 Cadillac Escalade
- a
2002 Mazda Miata
- a
2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
- a
2001 Chevrolet Prism
Among the insurance companies to which allegedly
false claims were submitted were New Jersey
Manufacturers Insurance Company, Travelers
Auto Insurance Company (formerly known as
First Trenton Indemnity), Selective Insurance
Company and Mercury Insurance Company.
As
part of the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s
investigation into this case, a civil complaint
seeking forfeiture of property owned and
used by Robert Christopher Collision based
on fraud was filed. As a result, the court
has ordered Buckingham and Robert Christopher
Associates Inc. not to sell or otherwise
transfer assets of the business or the real
property used by the business. The complaint
seeks forfeiture of the assets and real
estate from Buckingham and alleges that
the property was used to commit the crimes
alleged in the indictment.
State Investigator Wendy Wylie, Civil Investigator
Frank Crosson, and Deputy Attorneys General
Kristen Harberg, Christine Hoffman and Carol
Stanton Meier were assigned to the investigation.
Harberg presented the case to the grand
jury. The National Insurance Crime Bureau
assisted with the investigation.
“Far
too frequently this office receives allegations
of insurance fraud involving automobile
repair businesses,” said Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Brown. “As in this
case, the allegations often include inflating
damage claims, charging for parts that were
not supplied, and billing insurance companies
for repair work not done.”
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendants are presumed innocent until provent
guilty. The indictment was handed up to
Superior Court Judge Maria Marinari Sypek
in Mercer County. The defendants will be
ordered to appear in court at a later date
to answer the charges.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000,
while third-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of five years in state prison and
a criminal fine of $15,000. In addition,
the defendants may 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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