TRENTON
- Attorney General Peter C. Harvey announced
that a Camden County woman was sentenced
to seven years in state prison for stealing
more than $600,000 from Allstate Insurance
Company’s Burlington County Office
while employed as a Claims Process Specialist.
According to Vaughn McKoy, Director, Division
of Criminal Justice and Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor Greta Gooden-Brown, Linda Clements-Wright,
46, Sandstone Drive, Sicklerville, Camden
County, was sentenced by Burlington County
Superior Court Judge John A. Almeida to
seven years in state prison and was ordered
to pay $74,999 in restitution and $40,000
in fines.
“It
is particularly troublesome when insurance
company employees engage in fraud,”
said Attorney General Harvey. “The
public places a great deal of trust in
licensed insurance agents and expects
them to adhere to high ethical standards.
Today’s sentence sends a strong
reminder to those who violate that trust.
We will continue to aggressively prosecute
insurance fraud at every level.”
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor noted that
Clements-Wright was convicted on Dec.
16, 2004, by a Burlington County jury
on charges of conspiracy, theft by unlawful
taking and money laundering. The conviction
resulted from a May 22, 2003 indictment
filed by the Division of Criminal Justice
- Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
The Burlington County jury found that
between April, 1995 and September, 1998,
Clements-Wright, while employed as a Claims
Processing Specialist at Allstate Insurance
Company’s Burlington County office,
fraudulently issued more than 150 insurance
claim checks totaling $614,344. The fraudulent
checks were issued to at least 11 friends
and relatives who were not entitled to
the monies.
During the three-week trial, the Division
of Criminal Justice - Office of Insurance
Fraud presented evidence that Clements-Wright
devised several schemes whereby unauthorized
persons would receive and cash Allstate
claim checks and then split the monies.
One scheme involved cashing claim checks
payable to individuals purporting to be
elderly Allstate claimants living in senior
care facilities but who were unable to
directly receive the funds. It was charged
that Clements-Wright paid a ten percent
commission to these persons who cashed
the claim checks; Clements-Wright would
keep the balance of the monies. In another
instance, Clements-Wright issued unauthorized
insurance claim checks to purported claimants
for unreported property damage claims.
According to Fraud Prosecutor Gooden-Brown,
six co-conspirators who cashed insurance
claim checks for Clements-Wright previously
pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and
have been sentenced by Burlington County
Superior Court Judge Marvin E. Schlosser.
The co-conspirators are identified as:
- Neville
L. Holder,
62, Clemson Road, Cherry Hill, Camden
County;
- Neville
Louis Holder, 34, Quailridge
Lane, Bowie, Maryland (Holder’s
son);
-
Lisa Givens,
38, Thompson Avenue, Chesilhurst, Camden
County;
- George
Givens,
37, Thompson Avenue, Chesilhurst, Camden
County (Lisa Givens husband);
- Bruce
Alston, 49, Lorraine
Avenue, Moorestown, Burlington County;
- Michael
McCormick,
42, Sturbridge Drive, Sickerville, Camden
County.
State
Investigator Darrell Washington, Civil
Investigator Kenneth Frazee, and Deputy
Attorney General Jacqueline D. Smith were
assigned to the investigation. DAG Smith
and DAG Allen Ferg represented the Division
of Criminal Justice - Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the trial and the
sentencing. In addition, State Investigator
Kelly Howard, and Deputy Attorney General
Christine Hoffman were assigned to the
trial team. The case was referred to the
Division of Criminal Justice - Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor by Allstate
Insurance Company.
“Insurance
carrier employees who commit insurance
fraud violate the laws of the State and
the trust of the public, and our Office
takes these cases very seriously,"
Fraud Prosecutor Gooden-Brown said. "Today’s
significant seven-year sentence sends
a strong message to insurance carrier
employees who commit fraud. As we have
in the past, the Division of Criminal
Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
will continue to vigorously prosecute
those involved in this type of criminal
activity.”
Noting that some important cases have
begun with anonymous tips from the public,
Prosecutor Brown emphasized that individuals
can make a difference. “We need
people’s information, not their
identities. People who are concerned about
insurance cheating and have any information
about a fraud can call our toll-free hotline
at 1-877-55-FRAUD, or
visit our Web site at www.NJInsurancefraud.org.”