N.J. Woman Ordered to Pay Fraud Fine

New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Director Vaughn McKoy announced that a Burlington County woman was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty to falsifying records in order to submit a phony insurance claim worth more than $42,000.

According to McKoy and Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden-Brown, Linda Hayes, 58, of Marlton, Burlington County, was ordered by Burlington County Superior Court Judge Marvin Schlosser to pay a $5,000 civil insurance fraud fine and to serve three years probation. Hayes had previously pleaded guilty to a criminal Accusation filed by the Division of Criminal Justice – Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor which charged her with two counts of falsifying records.

At the Jan. 21 guilty plea, Hayes reportedly admitted that during October 2002, she submitted more than $42,000 in falsified receipts to USAA Casualty Insurance in support of a fraudulent homeowner’s insurance claim. The claim, which resulted from a burglary of the residence, stated that certain of Hayes’ property had been stolen and that Hayes inflated the receipts and reported to USAA Casualty Insurance that the alleged stolen property was more valuable that it actually was.

In addition, it was charged that Hayes submitted receipts to USAA Casualty which were entirely fictitious and that she also submitted a fraudulent police report to the Evesham Township Police Department.