Former N.J. Company Employee Ordered to Pay $4,000 to Employer

New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey announced that a former employee of a Hudson County insurance agency has been ordered to pay nearly $4,000 in restitution after reportedly admitting to concocting a scheme to issue fraudulent insurance claim checks while employed by the agency.

According to Vaughn McKoy, Director, Division of Criminal Justice and Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden-Brown, Jemal Williams, 32, of Hudson County, was sentenced by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Elaine Davis to three years probation and ordered to pay $3,982 in restitution.

Gooden Brown noted that Williams was indicted by a Hudson County Grand Jury on Oct. 8, 2002 on charges of conspiracy and theft by deception. Williams pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 30 before Judge Davis.

In pleading guilty, Williams, a former customer service representative for Great West Life and Annuity Insurance Company’s Hudson County office, reportedly admitted that he fraudulently authorized and issued six Great West insurance claim checks totaling more than $7,415.

The investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice – Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor reportedly determined that Williams issued the claim checks as if the insurance carrier was paying a legitimate claim. In fact, the claims were phony.

Williams is also reported to have admitted that he conspired with Letticia Waymer, 32, of Montclair, to perpetrate the scheme. Waymer pled guilty on June 20, 2002, to a charge of conspiracy, reportedly admitting that she received and cashed four fraudulently issued claim checks from the Great West Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Waymer kept $800 of the proceeds, turning the remainder of the monies over to Williams.

On Aug. 6, 2002, Waymer was admitted into the Pre-trial Intervention Program (PTI) conditioned upon making full restitution to Great-West Life and Annuity Insurance Company.

“This case was referred to Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor by Great West Life after discovering that claim checks had been fraudulently issued,” said Gooden Brown. “Great West Life participated in the criminal investigation which led to the prosecution of the two individuals who stole more than $7,000 in insurance claims money.”