Bernardsville Man Sentenced For Issuing $166,000 In Bad Checks

BERNARDSVILLE, NJ — A Bernardsville man was sentenced to just under one year in county jail after he issued 49 bad checks totaling more than $166,000, said Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor on Friday.

Alfred Balak-Labracio, 38, of Bernardsville, was sentenced to 364 days by Superior Court Judge Michael J. Rogers in Somerset County. Labracio previously pleaded guilty on April 11 to 49 counts of third-degree bad checks and 3 counts of fourth-degree bad checks.

"Writing bad checks is a crime with serious consequences," said Platkin. "Let this sentence serve as a clear message to all; New Jersey has no tolerance for swindlers who defraud businesses and others through check fraud scams."

On April 11, Labracio admitted to issuing 49 bad checks totaling more than $166,088 to Mercedes Benz Financial Services, BMW Financial Services, and General Motors Financial between Sept. 29, 2017 and Sept. 5, 2018 and another 3 checks totaling more than $1,814 to Progressive Insurance, Geico Insurance, and BMW Financial Services between Aug. 17, 2017 and Oct. 18, 2017.

"We’re committed to holding criminals accountable and ensuring the end of their schemes," said Thompson. "The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who commit these crimes in order to deter this type of fraud that can harm individuals as well as businesses."

People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline at 1-877-55-FRAUD, or visiting the website at NJInsurancefraud.org. State regulations permit a reward to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution, and conviction for insurance fraud.

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