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| Katreecea Cline, 49, of Elmwood Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of insurance fraud and fraud by insolvency Feb. 13. |
A Bergen County woman was sentenced to four years in prison for insurance fraud after she filed a phony insurance claims for losses she allegedly sustained during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Katreecea Cline, 49, of Elmwood Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of insurance fraud and fraud by insolvency Feb. 13. She was sentenced by Bergen County Superior Court Judge James J. Guida.
Cline admitted she submitted fake and altered receipts to her insurance company showing that items in her apartment in Elmwood Park, in her son's dorm room in Harrison, and stored at her brother's home in Keansburg were damaged as a result of Superstorm Sandy. Cline collected a total of $53,800 on those fraudulent claims.
Cline and her husband Stevie Mitchell signed a bankruptcy claim in November 2012. They claimed they had nearly $210,000 in debt and only $36,000 in assets. She failed to report they had property interest in the outcome of the Superstorm Sandy claims and that they had an account with Metabank. The couple had $175,000 of debt wiped out.
Charges filed against Mitchell in connection with the fraudulent bankruptcy application have been dismissed.
"Today's sentencing makes it clear that we will not allow individuals to undermine the integrity of the insurance system, especially in the aftermath of a natural disaster like Superstorm Sandy," said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. "Fraudulent claims not only steal money meant to cover legitimate losses, they force genuine victims to wait longer for their claims to be processed."
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N.J. couple indicted for filing false Sandy claims, bankruptcy
Updated Sep 22, 2015; Posted Sep 22, 2015
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Katreecea Cline, 46, of Elmwood Park was indicted on multiple fraud counts for bilking an insurance company out of $53,000, and for filing a false bankruptcy claim with her husband, Stevie Micthell. (Courtesy of N.J. Attorney General)
By Susan K. Livio
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
TRENTON -- A Bergen County couple was indicted Monday for allegedly bilking their insurance company out of $53,000 and falsifying a bankruptcy application that forgave $175,000 of debt, the state Attorney General's office announced.
Authorities claim Katreecea Cline, 46, improperly reported Hurricane Sandy-related damages to her son's dorm room in Hudson County, her apartment in Elmwood Park, and property stored at her brother's home in Keansburg from October 2012 to November 2013, according to acting Attorney General John Hoffman said. United States Automobile Association (USAA) paid Cline $53,800, the maximum allowed under her policy, Hoffman said.
Cline also reported her recreation vehicle containing $20,000 worth of construction equipment and other belongings were stolen in May 2013, officials said.
In February 2013, a federal bankruptcy court judge accepted Cline and her 44-year-old husband Stevie Mitchell's bankruptcy application and set aside approximately $175,000 worth of debt.
Stevie Mitchell, 44, of Elmwood Park was indicted for submitting a false bankruptcy application. (Courtesy of N.J. Attorney General's Office The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined the documents submitted were fraudulent the damages fictitious, Hoffman said.
"It is extremely deplorable that this couple took advantage of a natural disaster, one that caused such tremendous loss for so many victims, to cheat their insurance company," said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. "This type of conduct drives up the cost of insurance premiums for honest homeowners." Cline was was indicted on two counts of insurance fraud, theft by deception, attempted theft by deception, and forgery. Both were indicted on counts related to the fraudulent bankruptcy.