March 26, 10

NEWS / Two South Jersey Men Charged with Insurance Fraud

TRENTON - Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that a Camden County man and a Gloucester County man were indicted today for allegedly conspiring in an automobile “give up” scheme in order to collect insurance proceeds.

According to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli, Shannon Daney, 34, of Pine Hill, and Nicola (aka Nick) Bellapingna, 34, of Deptford, were charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, insurance fraud, and attempted theft by deception, all in the third degree.

The Gloucester County grand jury indictment alleges that between Nov. 2, 2006 and Feb. 26, 2007, Daney and Bellapingna conspired to falsely report to the Glassboro and Washington Township Police Departments that Daney’s 2006 Honda Civic had been stolen. The indictment further alleges that the defendants reported the purported theft to the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and attempted to obtain approximately $13,000 from Liberty Mutual by creating the false impression that the Honda had been stolen.

The investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor revealed that earlier in the evening on Nov. 2, 2006, the Honda had been involved in an automobile accident in Washington Township and could not have been stolen from a parking lot in Glassboro later that evening.

Detective Christina Fiscella, Civil Investigator Robert Rosiello, and Deputy Attorney General Candy Cure were assigned to the investigation. Cure presented the case to the Gloucester County grand jury. Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Dagli also thanked the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company for its assistance in the investigation.

The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are 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. The defendants also face the possibility of civil insurance fraud fines.

http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases10/pr20100324d.html