Office of the Attorney General: Three South Jersey Residents Indicted on Charges They Staged Carjacking as Part Of $18,000 Insurance Fraud

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

July 17, 2008

Contact: Division of Criminal Justice
609-292-4791


TRENTON Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Deborah Gramiccioni announced that three people have been indicted on charges they staged a phony carjacking in order to collect insurance claims money.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Dennis Caraballo, 28, of Vineland, and his girlfriend, Kristen Smith, 30, also of Vineland, were each indicted on charges of conspiracy, insurance fraud, and attempted theft by deception, all in the third degree. Caraballo was also charged with fourth-degree false swearing and fourth-degree falsifying records. Craig T. Likanchuk, 43, formerly a resident of Vineland but currently incarcerated at the Zephyrhills Correctional Institution in Florida on unrelated charges, was indicted on a charge of third-degree conspiracy. The indictment was handed up in court late yesterday.

The Cumberland County grand jury indictment alleges that between Oct. 3, 2005, and March 31, 2006, the defendants agreed to stage a carjacking in order to file a phony automobile theft insurance claim. According to the indictment, Caraballo and Smith allegedly contacted the Vineland Police Department and indicated that a carjacking occurred in the parking lot of a Wawa convenience store and that, as a result, a car had been stolen. It is alleged that Caraballo subsequently submitted a claim to the State Farm Insurance Company falsely claiming that the car, a 2005 Toyota Scion, valued at $18,810, had been stolen.

The indictment alleges that Caraballo falsely stated under oath that Smith was inside his Toyota Scion when it was carjacked. An investigation determined that the car was not stolen, but that Likanchuk had allegedly driven it away. Suspecting fraud, State Farm denied the claim and referred the matter to the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.

Detective George Meyers, Jr., Civil Investigator Frank Crosson and Deputy Attorneys General Kristen Harberg and Ronald A. Epstein were assigned to the investigation. Epstein presented the case to the Cumberland County grand jury. Prosecutor Brown thanked State Farm and the Vineland Police Department for their assistance in this matter.

The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Third-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to five years in state prison and a criminal fine of $15,000, while fourth-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to 18 months in state prison and a criminal fine of $10,000. The defendants may also face civil insurance fraud fines.

Prosecutor Brown noted that some important cases have started with anonymous tips. People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD or visiting the Web site http://www.njinsurancefraud.org. State regulations permit an award to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.

The Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was established by the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is the centralized state agency that investigates and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.