Seven North Jersey Residents Charged In Auto “Give Up” Scheme

May 6, 2010

Seven New Jersey residents have been charged with insurance fraud and related charges for lying to police that their cars had been stolen in order to collect insurance money, the New Jersey Attorney General’s office said.

Indicted in the scheme were: Clara Crockett and Brian Adams, a mother and son from Passaic, Jorge Osorio-Jaramillo, of Paterson, Maria E. Pagan, of Paterson, James Sgambati, or Parsippany, and Robert R. and Jessica V. Silverio, a husband and wife from Paterson.

Paterson resident Jose Torres , the alleged ringleader of the fraud – known in the fraud world as a “give up scheme – has already been sentenced to eight years in prison.

In all, five vehicle were falsely reported as stolen, resulting in claims payments totaling $107,000 from four insurers: Mercury Insurance Group, State Farm, New Jersey Manufacturers and Allstate Insurance Companies. The companies all cooperated with insurance fraud investigators in prosecuting the case.

The charges each faces carries a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a fine of $15,000.

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Source: New Jersey Attorney General