N.Y. Man Arrested in Auto Fraud Scheme

A 39-year-old Bronx, New York man who reported his 2003 Cadillac Escalade SUV stolen was arrested Sept. 18 after investigators found a surveillance video contradicting his claim, the New York State Insurance Department reported.

Paul W. Lewis was arrested on charges of attempted grand larceny, insurance fraud, offering a false instrument for filing and falsely reporting an incident. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.

According to Investigator Anthony Gonzalez of the Insurance Department’s Frauds Bureau, Lewis told police his car was stolen from where he parked it on the 2400 block of Webb Avenue in the Bronx on May 21. Lewis later filed a theft report with Geico Insurance Company, the insurer of the vehicle, which was valued at $25,000.

The SUV was discovered the day after Lewis filed the reports. It was found burning in a residential area in the 200 block of 144th Street in Queens.

Gonzalez said investigators found no evidence of a forced entry into the car. He said investigators located a surveillance video of the location where Lewis claimed he had parked the vehicle. Gonzalez said the video showed that the vehicle had not been parked in the Bronx as Lewis had claimed.