N.J. Man Charged with Filing False Transit Bus Accident Claim

New Jersey Criminal Justice Director Vaughn McKoy announced that the Division of Criminal Justice – Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor has obtained a State Grand Jury indictment charging a Camden County man with submitting a fraudulent insurance claim, falsely reporting that he was injured by a New Jersey Transit bus, in order to file a $1 million lawsuit.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Anthony Williams, 37, of Camden, was charged with Health Care Claims Fraud (2nd degree) and theft by deception (3rd degree). If convicted of both charges, Williams faces up to 15 years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $165,000. Williams also faces civil insurance fraud fines.

The indictment alleges that between April 21, 2002 and April 28, 2005, Williams submitted a false New Jersey Transit automobile collision and personal injury claim to New Jersey Transit. It is charged that Williams falsely claimed that he was a passenger in a mini-van that sustained relatively minor damage when a New Jersey Transit bus struck the side-view mirror of the mini-van.

An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice – Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor reportedly determined that Williams had been an eyewitness to an April 21, 2002 collision involving a NJ Transit bus and a minivan on Arch Street in Philadelphia. The investigation found that Williams was not in the car at the time of the alleged accident and sustained no injuries in the collision.

The investigation further revealed that Williams filed the fraudulent claim in order to retain an attorney to file a $1 million lawsuit against New Jersey Transit for injuries that he purportedly sustained in the accident. It is also alleged that Williams consulted with at least two physicians with respect to the “injuries” to further his claim. The lawsuit was dismissed in April 2005.