THE
HUNTERDON COUNTY NEWS |
TITLE: Frenchtown Resident Pleads Guilty in Multi-State Stolen Property Ring and Fencing Operation
DESCRIPTION:
Time: 10:28:46
Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that a New Jersey resident has pleaded guilty in a multi-state stolen property ring and fencing operation.
According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, James J. Sanocki, 29, who resided in both Frenchtown and Ewing, pleaded guilty yesterday before Superior Court Judge Roger F. Mahon in Hunterdon County to second-degree receiving stolen property, third-degree theft of moveable property and third-degree conspiracy. The charges were contained in a June 4, 2007 state grand jury indictment.
Under the plea agreement, Sanocki faces a sentence of five years in state prison and will be required to pay full restitution to his victims. He also must pay a $3,000 civil insurance fraud fine. Judge Mahon scheduled Sanocki’s sentencing for Aug. 15.
Two of Sanocki’s co-defendants previously were admitted into the Pre-Trial Intervention program. Edwin Moorhouse, III, 30, of West Palm Beach, Fla., was ordered to pay $31,410 in restitution, and Laurence B. Conner, 28, of Glassboro, was ordered to pay $3,398.
In pleading guilty, Sanocki admitted that between 2001 and 2002, in New Jersey, Kentucky, and elsewhere, he conspired with other persons to knowingly receive stolen property and sell, or fence, the stolen property to others. The stolen items included two tractors, nine motorcycles, several trailers, a dump truck, various other pieces of equipment including a Bob Cat skid steer loader, and several all-terrain vehicles.
Sanocki further admitted that in July 2002, he conspired with Moorhouse to steal a 1996 Pontiac Trans-Am in Ocean County. Sanocki also admitted that between April 13 and June 10, 2002, he conspired with Conner to fraudulently report the theft of a Suzuki motorcycle to the New Hope, Pa., Police Department. A false theft claim was subsequently submitted to the State Farm Insurance Company with respect to the motorcycle.
State Investigator Vincent Gaeta and Deputy Attorney General Michael A. Monahan were assigned to the investigation. Monahan represented the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing. The Jefferson County Police Department in Louisville, Ky., greatly assisted the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor in this investigation.
“Frequently insurance fraud investigations lead to evidence of stolen automobiles and other vehicles, as well as owner initiated give ups,” Prosecutor Brown said. “This office will continue to follow evidence of fraud and theft wherever it leads.”
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 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.