Four Plead Quilty in $500,000 Auto Fraud Scheme

New Jersey Acting Attorney General Peter C. Harvey announced that four residents from Camden and Burlington Counties pleaded guilty to conspiracy for stealing money from Allstate Insurance Company as part of an auto insurance PIP fraud theft scheme.

According to Vaughn McKoy, Acting Director of the Division of Criminal Justice, Neville L. Holder, 62, of Clemson Road, Cherry Hill; Lisa Givens, 38, of Thompson Avenue in Chesilhurst, Camden County; Givens’ husband, George Givens, 37, also of Thompson Avenue in Chesilhurst; Bruce Alston, 49, of Lorraine Avenue in Moorestown pleaded guilty before Judge Marvin E. Schlosser in Superior Court, Burlington County, to separate Accusations which charged each of them with third-degree conspiracy. The defendants are scheduled to appear before Judge Schlosser on May 19 to be sentenced. Crimes of the third degree carry sentences of up to five years in State prison, and a criminal fine of up to $15,000. The defendants may also face civil insurance fraud fines pursuant to the civil Insurance Fraud Prevention Act.

At the guilty plea hearing, each defendant admitted that between July 1995 and June 1998, they accepted auto insurance related claim checks in various amounts from an Allstate Insurance Company Insurance Claims Process Specialist working out of Allstate Market Claims offices located in Mt. Laurel and Moorestown, New Jersey, knowing that they were not entitled to the money.

The investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor revealed that the Allstate Claims Process Specialist reportedly issued insurance claim checks in various amounts drawn on an Allstate account. The Claims Process Specialist asked the defendants to cash the checks, told them to keep 10 percent of each and give the rest back to the Claims Process Specialist with the exception of Neville L. Holder who kept all of the check proceeds.

It is alleged that the Claims Process Specialist issued insurance claims checks by entering the claims computer and paying fictitious invoices.

The alleged amounts of the thefts were:

Neville L. Holder – $1,646.18
Lisa Givens – $8,387.16
George Givens – $7,129.00
Bruce Alston – $8,387.16

It is suspected that, in total, as many as approximately 146 fraudulent insurance fraud claims checks totaling approximately $554,941 were issued to 11 conspirators. Additional charges, including more serious charges against the Allstate Claims Process Specialist are anticipated as the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s investigation continues.

The Accusations to which the defendants pleaded guilty were filed by the Division of Criminal Justice’s Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor which investigates and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance fraud related cases.

State Investigator Darrell Washington, Civil Investigator Christopher Wenger and Deputy Attorney General Jacqueline D. Smith were assigned to the investigation into this case. DAG Smith represented the State at the guilty plea hearing.

This case was referred by Allstate Insurance Company to the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor for investigation.

“Because insurance related thefts and fraud harm everyone, these crimes are troubling. But these crimes become particularly disturbing when perhaps as many as a dozen people, including an insurance carrier employee, conspire to steal over half a million insurance claims dollars,” said Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown. “The criminal charges filed today are only the first round. Additional criminal charges are anticipated in this case.”