Third Person Sentenced in New York Auto Insurance Scam

Federal authorities say a 67-year-old central New York man has been sentenced for his role in staging a motor vehicle crash to collect insurance money.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Joseph Demme of Whitesboro was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Syracuse to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.4 million.

Demme pleaded guilty a year ago Wednesday to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering.

He admitted to helping Joseph Dellerba and Cynthia Morgan, both of Utica, after they staged a crash in Utica in March 2006. Authorities say Dellerba and Morgan falsely claimed to have been injured in the collision.

Dellerba and Morgan were both sentenced in February to more than two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution.