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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Division
of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A.
Paw announced that an Ocean County man has
been indicted for allegedly filing a fraudulent
theft claim with his automobile insurance
company.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Paul C. Williams, 37, of Beachwood,
was charged with insurance fraud, attempted
theft by deception and tampering with public
records or information, all in the third
degree. The indictment also charged him
with fourth-degree charges of falsifying
records and uttering a forged document.
The
Ocean County grand jury indictment, which
was handed up late yesterday, alleges that
on June 19, 2004, Williams falsely reported
to the Seaside Heights Police Department
that his 2001 Honda Accord had been stolen.
It is alleged that Williams subsequently
submitted a false automobile theft claim
to Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Williams
allegedly submitted a false automobile theft
affidavit as well as a forged power of attorney
in support of his claim to Liberty Mutual.
The car was later recovered in the Parkridge
Apartments parking lot on Walnut Street
in Toms River.
State
Investigator Christine Fiscella, and Deputy
Attorney General Joseph J. Egan, Jr. were
assigned to the investigation into this
case. Egan presented the case to the Ocean
County Grand Jury.
This case was referred to the Office of
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor by the Special
Investigative Unit of Liberty Mutual Insurance
Company which initially uncovered the fraud
and assisted OIFP in the investigation.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanks
Liberty Mutual for their involvement in
this matter.
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 criminal
fine of $10,000. In addition, Williams 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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