On January 8, 2015, Robert Napolitano, of Clifton, New Jersey was sentenced to thirty-two (32) months in prison and three years supervised release1 after pleading guilty to “charges that he defrauded the [New Jersey Turnpike Authority (“NJTA”)] out of insurance money meant to cover the cost of repairs to turnpike property,” totaling approximately $900,000.00.2

Napolitano, the “owner of Dawk to Dusk, LLC, an insurance adjusting company that investigated and provided adjusting services to property and casualty carriers in New Jersey,” was arrested on February 25, 2014 and charged.3 It was alleged in the Complaint against Napolitano, that “[f]rom October 2011 to June 2013, [he] obtained by fraud more than $200,000 from the [NJTA] and certain insurance companies in several ways, including instructing insurance companies whose motorists caused damage to the New Jersey Turnpike to issue checks payable to Dawn to Dusk.”4

It is further alleged that, [a]fter the checks were mailed to Dawn to Dusk, Napolitano did not forward the payments to the NJTA and instead shared the money with his previously charged conspirator, Gerardo A. Blasi, an NJTA claims manager.”5 Blasi was previously sentenced to forty-five (45) months in prison for his role.6

On September 22, 2014, Napolitano pleaded guilty to the charges and was set for sentencing before U.S. District Court Judge Kevin McNulty.7

With all of the giant billboards that sprang up all over New Jersey recently (see image below), its good to see that authorities are investigating and prosecuting insurance fraud across the board and that violators are getting what the State is promising.

As always, I’ll leave you with a (mildly) related tune, here’s Johnny Cash with Folsom Prison Blues:

//www.youtube.com/embed/bDktBZzQIiU?rel=0

1 http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2015/01/09/353667.htm
2 http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/09/little_falls_insurance_adjuster_admits_role_in_nj_turnpike_claims_scam.html
3 http://www.fbi.gov/newark/press-releases/2014/clifton-insurance-adjuster-charged-with-defrauding-new-jersey-turnpike-authority-and-insurance-companies-of-more-than-200-000
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 http://www.northjersey.com/news/clifton-man-sentenced-for-1-5m-insurance-fraud-1.1132053
7 http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/09/little_falls_insurance_adjuster_admits_role_in_nj_turnpike_claims_scam.html