Former N.J. Insurance Company Employee Sentenced in Phony Military Service Scam

New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Director Vaughn McKoy announced that a Union County woman has been ordered to pay more than $12,600 in restitution that she had stolen by falsely claiming she had been called to active military service.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden-Brown, Rashonda Clark, 30, of Plainfield, Union County, was ordered by Union County Superior Court Judge Joseph Donohue to pay $12,678 in restitution and to serve two years probation after pleading guilty to a Union County Grand Jury indictment filed by the Division of Criminal Justice – Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.

In pleading guilty on Sept. 17, Clark, formerly employed as a customer service representative by the Palisades Safety and Insurance Management Corporation located in Berkeley Heights, reportedly admitted that she told her employer that she had been called to active military duty in support of Iraqi Freedom by the United States Army.

An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice – Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined that Clark submitted forged documents to support her claim, including a copy of U.S. Army active duty military orders in which she (Clark) was to report to Fort Dix, N.J. en route to Fort Leonard Wood, Mich., for a period of 12 months in support of “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

While the investigation confirmed that Clark was a member of a New Jersey National Guard Reserve Component Unit, it was determined that Clark had not been called to active duty but had actually become employed at the American International Group (AIG) Insurance Company.

During the eight-month period (March 24 through Nov. 28, 2003) in which it is alleged Clark perpetrated the fraud, the Palisades Corporation paid Clark her $12,678 salary.