New Jersey Motorcyclist Indicted for Insurance Fraud

A New Jersey man has been indicted for allegedly reporting that his motorcycle had been stripped of its parts by thieves on two occasions, when in actuality he directed a repair shop to remove the parts so that he could make claims with his insurers.

Lew Alicock was charged by a state grand jury Tuesday and was arrested today in Woodbridge, according to an announcement today by New Jersey Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman and the New Jersey Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.

The indictment charged Alicock with two counts of second-degree insurance fraud, two counts of third-degree theft by deception, third-degree theft by deception and third-degree forgery. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

According to the indictment, in May 2013, Alicock called Pacific Specialty Insurance Company to report parts of his Yamaha stolen. He allegedly claimed that he was out of town for work and had left the motorcycle at his mother’s residence in Irvington. He allegedly told the representative that he had just returned from the work trip to discover the theft of parts.

In July 2013, Pacific issued a check for $5,512.96, which Alicock cashed out from his bank. In August 2013, Alicock allegedly called Pacific and asked for the $5,512.96 check to be reissued to himself and the repair shop. Pacific then ordered a stop on the check with the bank, but Alicock no longer had sufficient funds in his accounts. The bank repaid Pacific the full amount, but was only able to recover a portion by clawing back his other accounts. In September 2013, Pacific reissued the check to Alicock and the repair shop. Alicock cashed the second check with a different bank.

In March, the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor questioned the manager of the shop who revealed that Alicock came to the shop in May 2013 and asked the mechanic to take parts off his bike. The removed parts included fairings and the slip over the exhaust, according to the repair shop manager. In his insurance filings, Alicock had reported both parts among those stolen. The manager further stated that Alicock returned in May 2013 and paid for the removal and put the bike parts in his car. He returned two days later and had the mechanic put those parts back on the bike.

Alicock allegedly tried the scam again November 2013, this time attempting to defraud another insurance company by claiming that his motorcycle had been stripped of several parts while being housed in Newark. In this instance, Alicock allegedly requested a payout of $5,900, but the insurer, Rider Insurance, did not approve the claim. The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor obtained service records from the same repair shop, which show Alicock requested several parts be taken off his vehicle the same day his claim was filed with Rider.

Source: New Jersey Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor

Topics Auto Fraud New Jersey