TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP) announced that a Perth Amboy man was sentenced yesterday to eight years in state prison for swindling insurers, a credit union and his employer out of more than $600,000 in two separate fraud plots.

Vinny Curbelo, 32, was sentenced by Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Michael Toto. Curbelo had pleaded guilty last month to seven charges related to his scams: second-degree insurance fraud, second-degree health care claims fraud, second-degree theft by deception, three counts of third-degree theft by deception and third-degree money laundering.

In November, Curbelo was indicted for faking an accident at his job site to get his insurance to cover the half-million dollar cost of medical treatment for injuries he had suffered prior to his employment. In addition, he accepted approximately $55,803 in temporary disability payments for two years following the faked accident, though he was working under-the-table at a Dawn’s Auto Body in Keyport. While employed there, he stole approximately $16,700 from the bank accounts of that auto body shop.

Nine days later, Curbelo was indicted for executing a complex scheme to steal approximately $23,000 from a credit union and to defraud a car insurance company of more than $32,000 by forging documents related to a stolen SUV.

Curbelo will be required to pay full restitution ($55,803) to the disability insurer Gallagher Bassett.

Deputy Attorneys General Colin Keiffer and Michael Clore represented the state at the plea hearing. Deputy Attorney General T.J. Harker, Detectives Wendy Berg and Grace Rocca and Detective Sergeant Jarek Pyrzanowski coordinated the investigation.

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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