By Joe Carlson New Jersey Herald
Posted: Jun. 19, 2016 12:01 am
SUPERIOR COURT, Franklin, NJ --
Jason Crozier -- the Franklin man convicted of attempting to steal $5,500 from an elderly relative's annuity -- was sentenced to five years in New Jersey State Prison on Friday. Crozier, 45, was found guilty of insurance fraud, a second-degree crime; attempted theft by deception, a third-degree crime, and identity theft, a fourth-degree crime following a five-day trial in May.
Judge William J. McGovern sentenced Crozier in state Superior Court in Newton to five years for the second-degree crime, a concurrent three-year sentence for the third-degree crime and a concurrent 18-month sentence for the fourth-degree crime.Crozier faced up to 10 years in prison on the second-degree charge, but McGovern said though Crozier has a significant criminal history, since he was arrested on this incident in 2014, he had stayed out of trouble and seemed to have turn his life around.
According to the attorney general's office, between April 4 and May 15, 2013, Crozier attempted to steal $5,500 from an elderly relative's annuity.He contacted Prudential Insurance Company of America through phone calls where he impersonated his female relative and mail by providing the company with his relative's personal identifying information including her Social Security number, birth date and annuity contract number and submitted paperwork to withdraw the money without his relative's permission, the attorney general's office said.
Prior to being sentenced, Crozier said he wanted to get out of prison as soon as possible so he could go home and be a productive member of society."I'm sorry for what's happened," he said. "I've changed my life around. I got off of drugs, ahold of my anger issue. Unfortunately I'm going to have to get this behind me. It's the only issue I have. I want to get it over with as quickly as possible, go home and be productive as I have the last couple of years.
Crozier was represented by Charles O'Connell and the state was represented by Deputy Attorney General Michael Clore and Michael Farmer.