TRENTON - Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that a Garfield woman has pleaded guilty for her role in a $63,000 automobile insurance fraud.
According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Samantha Demetro, 36, of Garfield, pleaded guilty yesterday to third-degree theft by deception before Superior Court Judge William C. Meehan in Bergen County. The charges were contained in a March 18, 2004 state grand jury indictment. On or about May 14, 2008, Demetro was surrendered to the Bergen County jail by law enforcement authorities in Florida. She had been arrested as a result of an arrest warrant issued following the indictment.
At the guilty plea hearing, Demetro admitted that between Nov. 22, 1998 and March 24, 1999, she and two others, Bobby Eley, 46, of Paterson, and Steven “David” Thompson, 27, of Elmwood Park, conspired to submit automobile insurance property damage and bodily injury insurance claims relating to nine phony/fictitious automobile accidents. All nine purported automobile accidents allegedly occurred on the same Rte. 21 exit ramp located in Passaic, and all involved the same cars, namely a 1995 Ford Crown Victoria or a 1983 Porsche 928.
Demetro admitted that she and her co-defendants submitted fraudulent insurance claims for these purported accidents to the following insurance companies: American Family Mutual Insurance Company; CGU/United Security Insurance Company; Prudential Insurance Company; Pekin Insurance Company; Allstate Insurance Company; State Farm Insurance Company; Selective Insurance Company; and the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company. The defendants obtained $63,000 from the insurance companies for these automobile accidents. The money represented both property damage and bodily injury insurance claims.
On Jan. 27, 2006, Eley pleaded guilty to conspiracy. On March 27, 2006, the court admitted him into the PTI Program conditioned upon him paying a $2,500 civil insurance fraud fine.
On Feb. 1, 2006, Thompson surrendered on an arrest warrant and was arraigned in Bergen County Superior Court. On March 27, 2006, he also pleaded guilty to conspiracy. On May 5, 2006, the court admitted Thompson into the PTI Program and ordered him to pay restitution to State Farm Insurance Company and a $2,500 civil insurance fraud fine.
Detective Toni Petreski, Detective Timothy Herron 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.
“Our office is committed to protecting New Jersey’s citizens from unscrupulous acts by combating insurance fraud, which can strike in many forms. Phony automobile accident claims drive automobile insurance rates up,” Prosecutor Brown said. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates our resolve to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who choose to involve themselves in this type of criminal activity.”
Prosecutor Brown thanked American Family Mutual Insurance Company; CGU/United Security Insurance Company; Prudential Insurance Company; Pekin Insurance Company; Allstate Insurance Company; State Farm Insurance Company; Selective Insurance Company; and the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company for their assistance in this case.
Demetro is scheduled to appear before Judge Meehan on June 13 to be sentenced. Third-degree crimes carry maximum sentences of up to five years in state prison, and a criminal fine of up to $15,000. Demetro 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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