New Jersey Man Made False Sandy Insurance Claim

A central New Jersey man who claimed his barn was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy has been indicted on insurance fraud charges.

Seventy-three-year-old Farouk Soliman of Little Silver also faces theft by deception charges in the indictment handed up Monday by a state grand jury.

Acting Attorney General John Hoffman says Soliman submitted an insurance claim in November 2012 for a barn he said was destroyed by a falling tree when Sandy hit last October. But investigators learned the barn had been condemned in February 2012 for being structurally unsafe.

Authorities say Soliman allegedly was seeking to recoup the $5,500 he paid to raze the barn.

Soliman faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on both counts. It’s not known if he’s retained a lawyer.