A New Jersey livery business owner was arrested and charged with defrauding insurers and helping others defraud insurers of about $10 million.
Scott Sanders, 41, of Saddle River, N.J., is accused of fraudulently reporting where his vehicles were garaged and operated to avoid paying the higher premiums that would have been charged had he listed them as being garaged and operated in New York City.
Sanders was arrested Aug. 10 and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, five counts of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Sanders, who owns Always Available Private Car, also is accused of assisting other livery business owners to scheme to pay lower insurance premiums, which officials say led to losses for the insurers.
“For nearly a decade, Scott Sanders engaged in a scheme to defraud a host of insurance companies to the tune of at least $10 million. He will now be held to account for his conduct,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in a statement.
Since 2003, New York State has required owners of fleets of commercial vehicles, including livery cars and ambulettes, to obtain commercial automobile liability and physical damage insurance coverage.
Since 2003, Sanders controlled fleets of commercial vehicles that were garaged and operated in New York City. During that time period, Sanders allegedly submitted fraudulent insurance applications to automobile insurance companies, through both the New York Auto Insurance Program and the open market, that claimed that his vehicles were garaged and operated outside of New York City.
Based on these alleged misrepresentations, the insurance companies issued insurance policies for the vehicles at lower premiums than the vehicles would have been eligible for if the true location of the vehicles’ garaging and operation had been provided.
