TRENTON – The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor announced today that a Sussex County man has been found guilty of attempting to steal thousands of dollars from an elderly relative’s annuity and pretending to be the relative in correspondence with the insurance company.
A Sussex County jury found Jason Crozier, 45, of Franklin, guilty of second-degree insurance fraud, third-degree attempted theft by deception, and fourth-degree identity theft. The five-day trial was held before Superior Court Judge William J. McGovern.
He faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing, which is scheduled for June 17.
“This defendant not only defrauded an insurance company, he callously attempted to steal money from the savings of his own elderly relative,” said Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy. “He now faces an appropriately lengthy prison sentence for his criminal actions.”
According to prosecutors, between April 4 and May 15, 2013 Crozier attempted to steal $5,500 from an elderly relative’s annuity. He contacted Prudential Insurance Company of America on multiple occasions via phone calls and mail and created the false impression to Prudential that he was, in fact, the elderly relative. An investigation determined that Crozier attempted to impersonate the elderly female relative in his phone calls with Prudential. Crozier continued the impersonation and provided Prudential with the elderly relative’s personal identifying information, including her social security number, birthdate and annuity contract number. Crozier, who did not have the relative’s permission to act on her behalf, submitted paperwork to withdraw $5,500 from the annuity.
“This conviction sends a message to all that we will prosecute anyone who tries to dupe insurance companies into handing them the savings that senior citizens rely on for support,” Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Christopher Iu.
Deputy Attorneys General Michael Clore, TJ Harker, and Michael Farmer represented the state in this matter. Detectives Wendy Berg, Amy Carson and Matthew Armstrong coordinated the investigation. Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Iu thanked Prudential for referring the matter to the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Iu 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.
