NEWTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Brooklyn livery company owner was convicted today on charges he registered and insured limousines and taxis in New Jersey under false pretenses in order to obtain lower insurance premiums.
Moustapha Lo, 47, of Brooklyn, New York, was found guilty by a jury in Sussex County Superior Court of second-degree insurance fraud, three counts of third-degree theft by deception and three counts of third-degree theft by failure to make required disposition of property received. Lo will be sentenced by Judge Thomas Critchley on August 7. Lo was indicted by a state grand jury in 2012.
At the time of the crimes, which occurred in 2007 and 2008, Lo was the owner of Safe & Fare Transportation Inc. (Safe & Fare), located in Newton. The company has an alternate or associated name of Futa Transportation (Futa) with the same address as Safe & Fare. Lo was also the owner of Allo Taxi Limited Liability Company (Allo), also located in Newton.
The jury found that that Lo fraudulently claimed that the vehicles he registered under his New Jersey corporations were garaged and operated in Newton, when in fact, they were garaged and operated in New York. It is alleged that, as a result, Lo fraudulently obtained lower premium rate payments to which he was not entitled.
Additionally, the jury found that Lo had fraudulently obtained premium money from three customers and made the false impression that monthly cash payments paid to his company, Futa, were forwarded to insurance companies as payments for the customers’ cars. In all three instances, Lo allowed the three automobile policies to lapse for non-payment and kept the cash payments for himself.
Second-degree crimes carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a maximum punishment of five years in state prison and a criminal fine of $15,000.
Deputy Attorneys General Dennis Kwasnik and Colin Keiffer tried the case for OIFP. Analyst Terry Worthington was also assigned to the case. Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi thanked Peter Carr, SIU Special Investigator, CAIP Claims of Progressive/National Continental for his assistance in the investigation.
Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald 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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