N.J. Woman Pleads Guilty in Used Luxury Vehicle Theft Scheme

A New Jersey woman has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining insurance identification cards as part of a scheme to steal luxury used vehicles from dealerships in New Jersey and New York.

Paige Hunt, of Bloomfield, N.J., pleaded guilty to second-degree insurance fraud in a hearing before Superior Court Judge Robert Kirsch in Union County. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Hunt be sentenced to five years in state prison. Hunt is scheduled to be sentenced on December 20.

According to an investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP), Hunt fraudulently obtained at least nine auto insurance identification cards in order to provide proof of insurance when purchasing – by fraud – high-end used vehicles from dealerships. Hunt was able to drive off with at least three vehicles, for which no down payment was required at the time of purchase and for which no subsequent payments were ever made.

Between June 2016 and April 2017, Hunt fraudulently obtained at least nine auto insurance policies totaling more than $21,605 for coverage on late-model luxury used vehicles.

Last year, in a case brought by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), Hunt and four others were charged with first-degree conspiracy and money laundering and other offenses in connection with a similar auto-theft-by-fraud scheme involving at least 25 vehicles between June 2012 and March 2016.

In June, Hunt pleaded guilty to second-degree theft by deception. Under the terms of the plea agreement, which was contingent upon Hunt’s guilty plea in the OIFP case, DCJ will recommend Hunt be sentenced to five years in state prison to run concurrently with her OIFP sentence.