New York State - Division of Criminal Justice Services

with investigators from both agencies present along with officers of the stateDepartment of Environmental Conservation.Detectives also conducted an undercover sting operation and posing asunscrupulous tow truck operators to purchase a stolen BMW.Insurance Fraud InvestigationsThere has been an increase in the number of referrals made regarding autorelated insurance fraud in Suffolk County. The highest category of suspected fraudulentincidents involves the theft of items from vehicles, followed by fraudulent collisionclaims, bogus auto theft reports and suspicious vehicle fires.During 2009, Vehicle Theft Section detectives held regular meetings withinvestigators from the state Insurance Frauds Bureau and continue to work jointly onincidents that were suspected to be fraudulent by the carrier insurance company.Several joint agency multi-claim insurance fraud investigations have commenced andare ongoing. In addition, the cultivation of confidential informants in insurance fraudinvestigations resulted in the purchase of a late-model vehicle that was an insurancefraud “give up” from a distant state and the arrest of several individuals in variousinsurance fraud schemes.Outside County/Arson Involved Theft RecoveriesIt is not uncommon for vehicles reported stolen in Suffolk County to be foundburned in Nassau County or New York City. Detectives closely monitor these crimes fordiscrepancies in victim accounts. Working closely with the New York City Fire MarshalsOffice and the Old Brookville Police Department, insurance frauds were discovered onfour vehicles reported stolen locally and the owner/claimants arrested.Suffolk County Police DepartmentPerformance Measure Total Performance Measure TotalMVT investigations initiated 337 Reported motor vehicle thefts 1639MVT investigations filed with SAFETNet 144 Stolen parts recovered 277MVT misdemeanor arrests 25 Stolen vehicles recovered 1276MVT-related felony arrests 294 Value of parts recovered $137,350MVT confidential informants 11 Value of vehicles recovered $1,003,900MVIF investigations initiated 80 MVIF-related felony arrests 13MVIF investigations filed with SAFETNet 50 Hits resulting from SAFETNet 5Westchester County Office of the District AttorneyThe Westchester County District Attorney’s Auto Crimes Unit was created in 1998in response to a need in the county for a centralized unit dedicated to the investigation andprosecution of auto theft and auto insurance fraud. Previously, law enforcement efforts toresolve the problems of auto theft and related crimes were uncoordinated and piecemealNYS DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MVTIFP BOARD / ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Page 50