5 Charged With Selling Fraudulent Car Insurance To Immigrants: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — Five people were arrested and charged with creating a fake car insurance company in a complex scheme that crossed state lines, targeting and defrauding members of the immigrant community, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said.

An investigation has identified more than 120 people who purchased the fake insurance, Sini said.

Eddy Belteton-Reyes, 45, of East Quogue, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree scheme to defraud, a felony; second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony; third-degree grand larceny, a felony; seven counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony; and seven counts of petty larceny, a misdemeanor, Sini said.

Alin Zoel Belteton-Reyes, 40, of Riverhead, was arrested and charged with first-degree scheme to defraud, a felony; two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony; and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony, Sini said.

Juan Carlos Zarate Rodriguez, 41, of Deer Park, was arrested and charged with second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony, Sini said.

Ernesto Chavez Benitez, 44, of Bay Shore, was arrested and charged with four counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony, Sini said.

Dina Martinez, 36, of Richmond, Virginia, was arrested and charged with first-degree scheme to defraud, a felony, Sini said.

In December, 2019, Southampton Town Police launched an investigation into a reported scheme by Belteton-Reyes and his associates "to steal money from Hispanic victims by purporting to provide them with automobile insurance coverage through a fraudulent company called 'Protect Auto Insurance Company,'" Sini said.

The investigation expanded in 2020 to include the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, New York State Police, and the Suffolk County Police Department, as well as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the National Insurance Crimes Bureau, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, the New York State Department of Financial Services, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Chesterfield County Police Department in Virginia, Sini said.

Court-authorized eavesdropping and search warrants were used, as well as physical, aerial, and electronic surveillance, Sini said.

Those working with Martinez would register vehicles belonging to Suffolk County residents in the state of Virginia and obtain Virginia license plates and registrations, Sini said.

Fraudulent inspection stickers from Virginia were also sometimes provided to those dealing with the fake company, Sini said. Rodriguez is accused of assisting the co-defendants by altering New York State titles in order to obtain titles for the vehicles in Virginia, Sini said.

In order to obtain the documentation and license plates, people were required to provide foreign passports or identification as well as an original title and between $800 and $1,200 in an up-front payment, Sini said.

Customers would then be contacted by a "purported representative" of Protect Auto Insurance Company to set up their insurance accounts, Sini said. The defendants accepted payment for the fraudulent insurance premiums in the form of cash, credit cards, PayPal, Zelle, gift cards, or money orders, Sini said.

People were charged about $80 a month for the "insurance," Sini said.

Alin Zoel Belteton-Reyes would collect cash payments from people in-person on Wednesdays and Saturdays, using a portable printer in his vehicle to provide them with receipts to further legitimize the scheme, Sini said.

The investigation revealed that when the people who had purchased the insurance were involved in crashes or if other issues arose, Eddy Belteton-Reyes and Alin Zoel Belteton-Reyes would create excuses as to why the incidents were not eligible for insurance coverage, including claiming that the drivers were at fault or that the insurance coverage was only available to Virginia residents, Sini said.

Search warrants were executed at various locations related to the defendants Thursday in both New York and Virginia, Sini said.

At the homes of both Eddy Belteton-Reyes and Alin Zoel Belteton-Reyes, law enforcement recovered 14 Virginia license plates; Virginia inspection stickers; $11,545 in cash; multiple desktop and mobile printers; and passports, DMV paperwork, vehicle titles and registrations, and Protect Auto Insurance Company documents, Sini said.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service also intercepted a package from Alin Zoel Belteton-Reyes to Martinez that contained $2,980 in cash, Virginia titles, New York State titles, three passports, and copies of Virginia registrations, Sini said.

More than 120 victims have been identified so far; Sini urged anyone who believes they have purchased the fake insurance to contact the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office’s financial investigations and money laundering Bureau by calling 631-853-4232 or by emailing InfoDA@suffolkcountyny.gov.

“Not only did this fraudulent scheme target members of the Hispanic immigrant community by stealing their money and providing them with a false sense of security — they put every driver in harm’s way," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said.

“These defendants preyed on hundreds vulnerable unsuspecting individuals stealing their money while leaving them with a false sense of security,” Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki said, adding that Southampton police began the investigation after a single complaint.

“Due to law enforcement’s efforts, we have ended a scheme perpetrated by greedy, bad actors preying upon vulnerable individuals, which had the potential of putting the entire community at risk. These defendants were not only stealing thousands of dollars from residents, but leaving them unprotected by insurance,” Sini said. “Because of this fraudulent scheme, we have potentially hundreds of Suffolk County residents on the roads who believe they have insurance coverage when in fact they do not."

Eddy Belteton-Reyes, Alin Zoel Belteton-Reyes and Rodriguez were arraigned on the charges Friday in Southampton Justice Court and were released on their own recognizance, Sini said.

Eddy Belteton-Reyes and Alin Zoel Belteton-Reyes were required to surrender their passports and are due back in court on March 4; Rodriguez is due back in court on March 3, Sini said.

Benitez was arraigned Friday in First District Court and was released on his own recognizance; he is due back in court on March 1, Sini said. Martinez will be arraigned at a later date, Sini said.