TRENTON
- Criminal Justice Director Vaughn L.
McKoy announced that the Division of Criminal
Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
has obtained a State Grand Jury indictment
charging a Camden County man with submitting
a fraudulent insurance claim, falsely
reporting that he was injured by a New
Jersey Transit bus, in order to file a
$1 million lawsuit.
According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Greta Gooden Brown, Anthony Williams,
37, L/K/A N. 31st Street, Camden, was
charged with Health Care Claims Fraud
(2nd degree) and theft by deception (3rd
degree). If convicted of both charges,
Williams faces up to 15 years in state
prison and a criminal fine of up to $165,000.
Williams also faces civil insurance fraud
fines.
The indictment alleges that between April
21, 2002 and April 28, 2005, Williams
submitted a false New Jersey Transit automobile
collision and personal injury claim to
New Jersey Transit. It is charged that
Williams falsely claimed that he was a
passenger in a mini-van that sustained
relatively minor damage when a New Jersey
Transit bus struck the side-view mirror
of the mini-van. An investigation by the
Division of Criminal Justice - Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined
that Williams had been an eyewitness to
an April 21, 2002 collision involving
a NJ Transit bus and a minivan on Arch
Street in Philadelphia. The investigation
found that Williams was not in the car
at the time of the alleged accident and
sustained no injuries in the collision.
The
investigation further revealed that Williams
filed the fraudulent claim in order to
retain an attorney to file a $1 million
lawsuit against New Jersey Transit for
injuries that he purportedly sustained
in the accident. It is also alleged that
Williams consulted with at least two physicians
with respect to the “injuries”
to further his claim. The lawsuit was
dismissed in April 2005.
State Investigator Thomas Tiernan and
Deputy Attorney General Christine A. Hoffman
were assigned to the investigation. DAG
Hoffman represented the Division of Criminal
Justice –Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor before the State Grand Jury.
New Jersey Transit referred the matter
to the Division of Criminal Justice after
denying the claim. NJ Transit also assisted
in the investigation.
"Phony
bodily injury claims are far too common,”
said Fraud Prosecutor Brown. “This
activity violates the public trust and
places an enormous burden on the insurance
system. As it has in the past, the Office
of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor will
vigorously investigate and prosecute this
type of activity.”
The indictment, which was handed up to
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Maria
M. Sypek on Oct. 4, is merely an accusation.
The defendant is presumed innocent unless
and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt.
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