| TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP) today announced that an Essex County man was indicted on September 8 for allegedly seeking compensation of more than $15,000 from his insurer for both damage done to his car prior to his policy’s effective date and for personal items he claimed were taken during a five-day period when he fraudulently claimed the car had been stolen. Derrick Smith, 31, of Newark, was charged with second-degree insurance fraud and third-degree attempted theft by deception. A warrant for his arrest was issued at the time of his indictment and he was apprehended today by detectives from the Division of Criminal Justice.
In the indictment, obtained from the state grand jury, the OIFP alleged that Smith sought $13,629 from National Liability and Fire for damage to his 2002 BMW M3 that he claimed had been done during a five-day period, from December 9 to 13, when he had reported the car stolen in Bloomfield. In addition, he allegedly stated that there was a $1,700 watch and earrings valued at $1,000 inside his stolen vehicle. On December 13, Smith contacted the police department and stated that he had found his car, but it had extensive damage, and his watch and earrings were gone. On December 16, Smith filed a claim with National, seeking compensation for the damages for the stolen personal items.
The OIFP is alleging that Smith himself caused that damage on December 5 when he struck a parked car in Newark and that he admitted as much to an insurance investigator investigating the damage to that parked car. The following day, Smith applied for and was granted a car insurance policy from National, with an effective date and time of December 6, 2013, 12:01 a.m.
Deputy Attorney General Colin Keiffer presented the case to the state grand jury. Detectives Terrence Buie and Detective Sergeant Jarek Pyrzanowski coordinated the investigation.
The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and fines up to $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a prison sentence of five years and fines up to $15,000.
Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi noted that some important cases have started with anonymous tips. People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll‑free hotline at 1‑877‑55‑FRAUD, or visiting the Web site at www.NJInsurancefraud.org. State regulations permit a reward to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.
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