Mass. Man Pleads Guilty

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston, Anthony Snow of Dorchester, Mass., entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris to charges involving six counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. He was accused of being a key participant in a scheme to defraud insurance companies involving staged auto accidents.

Prosecutors told the court that on multiple occasions over a period of years, Snow and others engaged in a scheme in which they would falsely claim that vehicles (often rented trucks) were involved in accidents. Snow often used false documents, including fraudulent driver's licenses and bogus automobile registrations, in order to obtain payments from insurance companies.

In a particular incident "Tony Robinson" obtained a $5,000 insurance check after claiming that his Mercury was struck by a rented vehicle operated by "Anthony Russell." Snow admitted that he actually used both of these names, and thus collected for an accident he had with himself. Prosecutors also told how Snow arranged an accident involving a Cadillac and a rented truck. Law enforcement officers were conducting surveillance of Snow on the date of the alleged accident and observed both of these vehicles parked in front of his residence at the time that the alleged accident occurred.

Snow and others obtained over $200,000 through these schemes between 1997 and 2003. Snow faces up to 20 years in prison and fines.

N.Y. Arrests Man for Phony WC Certs.

New York State Fraud investigators announced the arrest of Lon T. Horton on 43 counts of issuing fraudulent certificates of insurance, two counts of insurance fraud, four counts of petit larceny and one count of falsifying business records. Authorities identified Horton as the owner of Horton Insurance Services, located in Brockport, and suspended his license pending a hearing.

The investigation revealed that Horton had issued fraudulent certificates of workers' compensation to self-employed persons as evidence of coverage for potential employers. As a result, businesses employing these individuals were improperly charged workers' compensation rates based on this fraudulent information. These businesses have so far been assessed additional rate charges in excess of $100,000.

Horton is also alleged to have taken workers' compensation premiums from insureds but never placed insurance with any carrier. He was arrested on Jan. 27, and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. Horton had been arrested in September 2003 on similar charges. Officials urged any New Yorkers who have concerns about their dealings with Horton to call the insurance department's Buffalo office at (716) 847-7176.

N.J. Man Faces Additional Charges

New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey announced that a Camden County man, previously sentenced to 10 years in state prison for stealing more than $140,000 in Sept. 11 survivor benefits, has admitted committing additional frauds, including staging automobile accidents to collect insurance money and credit card fraud.

According to Vaughn McKoy, director, division of criminal justice, Mark Christopher, a.k.a. Mark Valentine, Mark Palmerri, Mark Alexander, Eric Self, formerly of Camden County, pled guilty before Camden County Superior Court Judge William Cook to charges of health care claims fraud, theft by deception and credit card fraud. As a result of the guilty pleas, Christopher, currently serving 10 years in prison, faces up to 10 more years.

Investigations by the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor and the Organized Crime and Racketeering Bureau confirmed evidence that Christopher is a career criminal, who has lived his entire life through false identities and criminal schemes. He pled guilty to charges, admitting that he participated in at least eight staged automobile accidents in Camden and Burlington Counties. As a result of the phony accidents, Christopher submitted more than $17,000 in fraudulent property damage claims, and in one instance, a $4,000 fraudulent bodily injury claim.

Christopher used numerous aliases and various schemes in staging the accidents, favoring the use of standard insurance policies purchased in the course of renting U-Haul type trucks. In one claim, he reportedly rented a U-Haul truck in the name of Mark Valentine and staged an accident with a car (registered under the name Mark Palmerri) driven by his girlfriend. A fraudulent claim was submitted to U-Haul's insurance company, Republic Western Insurance, which paid a $4,181 accident claim.

In another staged accident, Christopher's girlfriend reportedly leased a truck from Penske Trucks using the fictitious name of Lisa Palmerri. Fast Track Auto Claims, the company that provides insurance services for Penske Trucks, paid a $4,254 accident claim to Mark Alexander, another alias used by Mark Christopher.

Christopher's indictment for the Sept. 11 fraud charged that he had applied to the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency seeking more than $140,000 in post-disaster aid. The investigations determined that in separate applications he reportedly claimed that his wife "Lisa Palmerri" and his wife "Kim Christopher" had died in the World Trade Center tragedy. The indictments charged that neither "Lisa Palmerri" nor "Kim Christopher" ever existed.