6 New Jersey residents who purportedly bought auto insurance after a car collision and then filed claims for the accident not long after the purchase now face potential sentences of up to 5 years in prison and $15,000 each in fines, authorities said.
All 6 were charged with one count of third-degree insurance fraud for their scheme of buying insurance right after the crash, announced the New Jersey Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor this month.
The defendants—Kevin Ford, 29, of Egg Harbor Township; Rajinder Kaur, 35, of Jersey City; Wilson Njenga, 31, of Belleville; and Yasmeen Scudder, 26, of East Orange—were all charged in separate incidents. Mother and daughter Annette (52) and Nanette Smith were charged in connection with the same incident.
Not one of the defendants was represented by a lawyer, officials said.
The defendants acquired auto insurance after their vehicle figured was in an accident, and then allegedly filed for claims for the accident "within days or months of obtaining insurance," officials said.
"[Drivers] tempted to commit this kind of illegal chicanery after a crash should think about the serious criminal penalties they'll face," said Ronald Chillemi, acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor for New Jersey.
