New York Man Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud Following Hit-and-Run Accident

A New York man has pleaded guilty to insurance fraud after being involved in a hit-and-run incident with a parked car in Hoboken, New Jersey.

On Wednesday, February 3, 2021, Richard Hamedl of West New York pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree insurance fraud in relation to an insurance claim filed following the accident. The plea was accepted by the Honorable Vincent J. Militello, J.S.C., during a virtual plea hearing.

This comes after Hamedl was operating a 2019 BMW X6 on August 26, 2020, when he struck a parked vehicle on 10th Street in Hoboken and fled the scene. A witness at the scene was able to get a license plate for the BMW X6 and police located the vehicle’s registered owner who advised them that she had lent the vehicle to Hamedl.

After the accident, Hamedl, who had a separate insurance policy for the BMW X6 with Progressive Insurance, called Progressive to modify his coverage. On September 3, 2021, Hamedl filed a fraudulent claim with Progressive stating that the BMW was damaged in a hit-and-run accident that same day while it was parked in Bronx, New York.

Sentencing in this case has been scheduled for March 25, 2021. The state is represented in this case by Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Galler of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Insurance Fraud Unit.

Source: The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office

Topics New York Fraud