By John Burton
LITTLE SILVER — A borough man was indicted yesterday for insurance fraud for allegedly falsely claiming damage to his property caused by Super Storm Sandy.
According to the state Office of the Attorney General, Farouk Soliman, 73, was charged with second-degree insurance fraud and third-degree attempted theft by deception.
Soliman, authorities said, filed a $5,500 claim with his insurance company last November indicating a barn was destroyed by the storm when a tree fell on it. But municipal officials had deemed the barn structurally unsafe and condemned it in February 2012. Authorities allege Soliman sought to be reimbursed for the cost of hiring a local demolition firm to razed and removed the building from his property.
The insurance company denied the claim and contacted the state Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
Second-degree crimes can carry with it as much as a 10-year prison sentence and fines up to $150,000, upon conviction. The penalty for conviction of a third-degree crime is a maximum five-year sentence and $15,000 fine.
Members of the public who have knowledge about insurance fraud related Sandy can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD or visiting the website www.NJInsurancefraud.org. Stateregulation.
