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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Bergen County man was indicted today
for allegedly attempting to steal $150,000
by buying an insurance policy on the life
of his wife after she was already dead.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Sohan Singh Gill, 46, of Elmwood
Park, was charged with second-degree attempted
theft by deception and two counts of fourth-degree
falsifying or tampering with records.
The
Bergen County grand jury indictment alleges
that Gill attempted to steal life insurance
benefits from the Reassure America Life
Insurance Company by purchasing a life insurance
policy on the life of his wife on July 24,
2000, two days after death records show
she died in Paterson. It is charged that
in 2003, Gill attempted to collect on the
policy by creating the false impression
that his wife died on Jan. 15, 2003.
State
Investigator Gregory Pringle, Civil Investigator
Andre Mitchell and Deputy Attorney General
Cheryl A. Maccaroni were assigned to the
investigation. Maccaroni presented the case
to the grand jury.
This
case was referred to OIFP by the Special
Investigative Unit of Reassure America Life
Insurance Company which initially uncovered
the fraud and assisted OIFP in the investigation.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanks
Reassure America for their involvement in
this matter.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Second-degree crimes carry a maximum
punishment of 10 years in state prison and
a criminal fine of $150,000, while fourth-degree
crimes carry a maximum punishment of 18
months in state prison and a criminal fine
of $10,000. Gill also may face civil insurance
fraud fines.
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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