New York’s Superintendent of Insurance Gregory V. Serio announced that Vincent Morciglio, 49, of Jamaica was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of forgery and two counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument. He was allegedly selling fraudulent bar-coded auto insurance ID cards.
The arrest was reportedly made following a joint investigation by the NYSID’s Frauds Bureau and the New York Police Department’s Queens North Auto Larceny Unit. If convicted of the charges, Morciglio faces up to a maximum of 14 years in prison. The bulletin noted that he was arrested for forgery related crimes on three other occasions in 1990, 1996 and 1997.
It is alleged that on two separate occasions, Morciglio provided an undercover agent with fraudulent insurance ID cards for $75. Although the fraudulent ID card could not be used to register their car, due to an invalid bar code, they could be presented as proof of insurance if stopped by the police.
Serio noted, however, that his Department is having a great deal of success in stopping this kind of fraud. “It is important to point out that fraudsters like this are a dying breed,” he stated. “Insurance Department statistics indicate a 68% reduction in fraud reports to the Department involving fraudulent ID card crimes as a result of the institution of the Insurance Information & Enforcement System which utilizes the latest in technology to eliminate the ability for fraudsters to create fraudulent ID cards.”
IIES utilizes an insurance information database to monitor the insurance status of New York State registered vehicles. Through a bar-code that is placed on all legitimate auto insurance ID cards, IIES ensures that all motor vehicles registered and driven in New York State have legitimate motor vehicle insurance. This bar code makes it difficult for criminals to create fake auto ID cards.
“As the crime of fraudulent ID cards is being effectively eliminated because of the bar-coding system, the Department has been able to reallocate investigative resources,” added Serio. “The IIES technology is working to ensure that drivers have proper coverage and it also has enabled the Department to reassign fraud investigators to concentrate on other fraud crimes to best protect New Yorkers.”
Topics New York Auto Fraud New Markets
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