New York Woman Arrested in Fur Caper

An Albany County, New York woman was arrested March 25 for filing a false insurance claim in connection with the reported theft of a $3,500 fur coat from her car, according to the New York State Insurance Department.

Lorraine D. Gay, 51, of Slingerlands, was arrested by Investigator Thomas McNaughton of the Department’s Frauds Bureau, assisted by the Albany Police Department. She was charged with insurance fraud and falsely reporting an incident.

According to McNaughton, an investigation was begun in December after Gay filed the claim with her insurance company, New York Central Mutual. McNaughton said the insurer was suspicious because the claim was one of a series of insurance claims she had filed over the course of a year.

Gay was never paid for the claim involving the fur coat and investigators later found it in her home. McNaughton said Gay gave investigators a written statement in which she confessed to fabricating the insurance claim. Gay was employed as a project manager by the New York State Office of the Comptroller at the time she reported the coat stolen.

The case is being prosecuted by the office of Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares. If convicted, Gay could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison. She was released on her own recognizance pending an April 11 hearing in Albany County Court.