TRENTON – Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Office of the InsuranceFraud Prosecutor today announced that a married couple from Bergen County have beencharged with trying to defraud $20,000 from their insurance company by allegedly filinga false claim that their car had been stolen from a store parking lot.
Younes Abuali, 53, and his wife , 28, who live in Cliffside Park were eachindicted on two counts of conspiracy (2nd and 3rd degree), one count of insurance fraud(2nd degree) and one count of attempted theft by deception (3rd degree). was also charged with third-degree theft by deception, fourth-degree false swearing, andan additional charge of third-degree insurance fraud.
According to the indictment handed up by a State grand jury, , with thehelp of her husband, submitted a false claim to Progressive Insurance Company(Progressive) for the alleged theft of her 2014 Toyota Camry. The claim sought paymentfor the vehicle in the amount of approximately $20,000.00, alleging it had had beenstolen from a store parking lot in Edgewater. The couple also gave false statements to Progressive in support of that claim, and enlistedYounes Abuali’s young son to make false statements, as well, according to theindictment. was additionally charged with fraudulently obtaining theProgressive policy last year by falsely claiming on her application that she was single andlived alone, when in reality she was married to Abuali and he and his son lived with her.
“We allege that lied to avoid paying her fair share for insurance coverageand then, with the help of her husband, compounded that fraud by fabricating a claim inan attempt to collect a $20,000 payout illegally,” said Attorney General Porrino. “We willinvestigate and pursue charges against anyone who lies and cheats to steal from theirinsurance carrier, a crime that forces honest policy holders to pay for their greed throughincreased insurance costs.”
“Insurance companies rely on customers to provide them with truthful and accurateinformation, allowing them to rate policies and calculate premiums” said Christopher Iu,Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor. “Those who deliberately provide misleadinginformation to benefit themselves undermine the integrity of the system and will faceserious consequences for their actions.”
The indictment is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent untilproven guilty. Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to ten years in state prisonand a criminal fine of up to $150,000; third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three tofive years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $15,000; fourth-degree crimes carrya sentence of up to eighteen months in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $5,000.
Deputy Attorney General Fernando D. Maldonado presented the case to the grand jury.Detectives Amy Carson and Erin Lukowiak coordinated the investigation.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Iu thanked Progressive’s Special Investigations Unit forreferring the case to the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor and for assisting in the investigation.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Iu noted that some important cases have started withanonymous tips. People who are concerned about insurance cheating and haveinformation about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline at 1-877-55-FRAUD, or visiting the Web site at www.NJInsurancefraud.org. State regulations permit a reward to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to anarrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.
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