ELIZABETH, NJ – A man has been sentenced after helping to fake his car being stolen in 2023 in order to gain insurance money.
Jonathan D. Martinelli, 44 of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to probation on Aug. 15 after he pleaded guilty in May to third-degree insurance fraud. Martinelli filed a stolen vehicle report on Nov. 10, 2023 after he said his car was stolen while parked at the Jersey Gardens Mall in Elizabeth. The Elizabeth Police Department forwarded the case to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office due to discrepancies in the report.
The Prosecutor’s Office says Martinelli was unable to make his monthly payments on a 2016 Land Rover, and paid someone to stage its theft. He parked his car at the mall on Nov. 9, 2023, and hid the keys in a predetermined location for others to come and retrieve. They then drove away in the Land Rover.
The vehicle was later used in multiple armed robberies throughout Essex County.
After filing a stolen vehicle claim with his auto insurance provider, Martinelli filed a second claim saying there were high-end electronics, clothes and jewelry worth $5,680 in the Land Rover at the time. The crime was uncovered before any claims were paid out.
“Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime”, says Union County Prosecutor William Daniel. “It drives costs up for everyone, and in this case, also involved a stolen vehicle to commit violent crimes.”
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.