Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Anne Milgram, Acting Attorney General

Gregory A. Paw, Director
Division of Criminal Justice

Greta Gooden Brown, Insurance Fraud Prosecutor

For Further Information Contact:
Division of Criminal Justice
(609) 984-1936

TRENTON - Acting Attorney General Anne Milgram and Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that a Perth Amboy man has been sentenced to state prison after pleading guilty for his role in a ring that engaged in auto thefts and insurance fraud.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Aneudy “Elvis” Ruiz, 25, of Perth Amboy, was ordered by Superior Court Judge Scott J. Moynihan of Union County to serve four years in state prison and to pay $14,000 in fines and restitution. The sentence is pursuant to Ruiz’s June 28 guilty plea to receiving stolen property and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, both second-degree offenses. The judge sentenced Ruiz to four years in prison on each charge, with the terms to be served concurrently.

An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor revealed that Ruiz’ auto theft ring was involved in thefts of over 20 cars worth over $800,000.

At the guilty plea hearing before Judge Moynihan, Ruiz admitted that between October 2004 and January 2006, he was involved in a conspiracy with other persons to steal cars and accept owner “give ups” of vehicles so fraudulent auto insurance claims could be submitted. A “give up” occurs when the owner of a car voluntarily gives it to another so that a false theft claim can be submitted and the car can be chopped for parts or retagged with a new vehicle identification number and sold.

Ruiz admitted that while working as a salesman at Lincoln Mercury/Mazda of the Sansone Auto Mall on Route 1 in Avenel, he stole spare ignition keys and used them to steal vehicles from the dealership. Additionally, Ruiz admitted to being involved in three owner “give ups” where he took cars from their owners so the owners could report them stolen and submit phony insurance theft claims. Ruiz admitted to selling eight cars stolen from the auto dealership for a total of $18,000 and selling the three give-up cars for a total of $1,500.

“Frequently insurance fraud investigations lead to evidence of stolen automobiles and alteration of vehicle identification numbers,” said Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown. “This particular investigation uncovered a large auto theft ring. Our investigation is ongoing and charges against additional persons are likely.”

Deputy Attorney General Jacqueline D. Smith represented the state at the sentencing. The investigation was conducted by State Investigators Jeffrey Lorman and Jarek Pyrzanowski and Civil Investigator Gary Miller. Assisting were State Investigators Luis Cruz, Wendy Wylie, Joseph Luccarelli and former State Investigator Karen Rivera, as well as Donald Cavallo of the National Insurance Crime Bureau. American Road, Geico and Auto One Insurance Companies also assisted in the investigation.

Prosecutor Brown 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 1-877-55-FRAUD or visiting the Web at www.njinsurancefraud.org.  State regulations permit an award to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.

The Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was established by the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is the centralized state agency that investigates and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.

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