Middlesex County Man Falsely Reported Motorcycle Parts Theft, State Says

A grand jury handed up an indictment against a Woodbridge man who authorities say fraudulently reported thieves stole parts off of his motorcycle.

Lew Alicock, 31, was indicted by state grand jury Tuesday and arrested Wednesday. He is charged him with two counts each of second-degree insurance fraud, and third-degree theft by deception, one count of third-degree attempted theft by deception and third-degree forgery, according to a news release from acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.

Authorities said he asked a mechanic to take the parts of his bike in May 2013, and then reported that the bike had been stripped. Then later that month, returned to the shop and had the parts reinstalled, the news release said.

He is accused of trying the same scam in November 2013, with a different insurance company, claiming his motorcycle had been stripped in Newark, but that insurance company, Rider Insurance, did not approve the claim, the news release said.

According to the news release:

On May 24, 2013, Alicock called Pacific Specialty Insurance Company to report parts were stolen from his Yamaha when it was parked at his mother’s Irvington home.

In July of that year, the insurance company issued a $5,512.96 check, which Alicock cashed.

Then, in August, he called the insurance company and asked for the check to be reissued to both him and a repair shop.

Pacific then ordered a stop payment on the first check, but the defendant no longer had sufficient funds in his bank accounts. The bank closed all of his accounts and repaid Pacific the full amount, but was only able to recover a portion by “clawing back” his other accounts. Alicock owed the bank a little more than $3,000 and the bank recovered about $1,535 from him using a collections agency.

In September, the insurance company reissued the check to the defendant and the repair shop, but Alicock cashed the second check with another bank. He is accused of signing his own name and scribbling a false signature on that check.

If convicted of the second-degree offenses, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

Deputy Attorney General Colin Keiffer presented the case to the grand jury. Detectives Kristi Procaccino and Megan Flanagan coordinated the investigation with assistance from Detective Sargent Jarek Pyrzanowski, Detective Kahlil McGrady, Detective Ron Allen and Analysts Chris Runkle and Terry Worthington. Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi thanked Woodbridge Police Department for assisting with the arrest.

Photo courtesy NJ Attorney General’s Office