HARRISON –
A 27-year-old Harrison man has been sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a scheme to falsify an insurance claim on a $139,000 Bentley he purchased with his parents and then reported stolen after it was torched.
The penalty against John Jarzabek was handed down last week by Judge Susan Steele in Bergen County Superior Court in accordance with a plea agreement reached in August when the defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree insurance fraud, N.J. Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced.
Authorities alleged that the scam was a family affair, also involving Jarzabek’s parents – Chester, 64, and Anna, 62 – and included accusations of conspiracy and other offenses for allegedly falsifying a car loan application to buy the pre-owned luxury vehicle. In pleading guilty in August, the son admitted to misrepresenting to an insurance company that the car had been stolen when it was not.
Jarzabek and his parents reportedly purchased the Bentley from D.I.B. Leasing in Teterboro, a now-defunct dealership where the son had been employed.
Chester Jarzabek was admitted into the Pre-Trial Intervention program in September. Charges against Anna Jarzabek are pending.
A bookkeeper for D.I.B. Leasing, Michael Ricciardi, 53, of Wayne, pleaded guilty to third-degree conspiracy for his part in the loan scheme and was sentenced last month to four years’ probation.
The general manager of the dealership, Hector Marquez, 44, of Monroe, pleaded guilty to second-degree insurance fraud. He was to appear in court last Friday and was expected to receive a state-recommended seven-year prison term.
State authorities 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 at 1-877-55-FRAUD, or visiting www.NJInsurancefraud.org. State regulations permit a reward to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.
– Karen Zautyk
