Fla. man gets 9 years for filing $1.2M in fraudulent insurance claims
The trucker filed false claims for refrigerated cargo purportedly spoiled in transport by his trucking companies.
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A Florida man has been sentenced to nine years in state prison for filing more than $1.2 million in false claims for refrigerated cargo purportedly spoiled in cross-country transport by his long-haul trucking companies based out of Middlesex County, New Jersey.
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Palm Coast, Florida, resident Alexei Legassov also must pay $1,286,911 in restitution to two insurance companies under the sentence handed down by Superior Court Judge Benjamin S. Bucca, Jr., in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
Insurance fraud & misconduct by a corporate official
In January, Legassov pleaded guilty to second-degree insurance fraud and misconduct by a corporate official. The charges stemmed from crimes Legassov allegedly committed in connection with several long-haul trucking companies he owned and/or operated in Middlesex County, including Akmos Trade Limited; Moon and Eggplant Limited; Passing Score LLC; and G.K. Refrigerated Line, LLC.
According to prosecutors, between July 2012 and May 2017, under the guise of his various cargo hauling companies, Legassov submitted more than a dozen fraudulent insurance claims for losses purportedly incurred when truck refrigeration units broke down in transport, damaging and/or destroying fruits, vegetables, frozen cakes and other refrigerated goods. In reality the cargo never existed or had not been damaged or destroyed, the government asserted.
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“Cargo fraud has a trickle-down effect that impacts everyone. It drives up insurance premiums for honest trucking companies, which increases the cost of transporting food. As a result, we all pay higher prices at the grocery store,” said New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal. “The significant prison sentence this defendant received should serve as a deterrent to other business owners tempted to illegally pad their bottom line by cheating carriers that insure cargo vital to commerce.”
Fabricated invoices
To support his fraudulent claims for losses, Legassov submitted fabricated invoices and other falsified documents to his insurance carriers, prosecutors said.
Legassov was ordered to pay $1,189,727.39 in restitution to Harleysville Insurance Company, which now has merged with Nationwide Insurance Company. He also must pay $97,183.54 in restitution to American International Group.
Steven A. Meyerowitz, Esq., is the director of FC&S Legal, the editor-in-chief of the Insurance Coverage Law Report, and the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc. Email him at smeyerowitz@meyerowitzcommunications.com.