Alleged Scam Ring Targeting the Elderly Busted in Somerset County

According to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, a Somerset County Grand Jury has issued an Indictment charging twelve people with racketeering and related crimes committed throughout the Tri-State area.

In December 2014, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Task Force investigated a “distraction burglary” committed in Somerville.

The victim, a 90-year-old North Adamsville Road resident, was approached by the male suspect who claimed to be claimed to be “with the water company.” The suspect then proceeded to ask the victim if he could inspect the water pipes in the victim’s basement. Shortly after, the suspect said the pipes were clear and left the home.

After the suspect left, the victim realized that a safe containing a large amount of money had been stolen from the home while he was distracted in the basement - his life-savings.

The Burglary Task Force developed several suspects from similar distraction-type burglaries reported around the State, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Over the next eight months, a variety of law enforcement officers and agencies joined the Task Force, conducted surveillance, and ultimately arrested nine of the twelve defendants currently charged in the Indictment.

Those indicted are:

• Stanley Mitchell, 41, Fort Lee (Bergen County)
• Steve John, 46, Edison (Middlesex County)
• Sonny Mitchell, 47, Rahway (Union County)
• Tim Mitchell, 41, Cherry Hill (Camden County)
• Sonny Stanley, 43, Cliffside Park (Bergen County)
• Sonny George, 46, Medford (Middlesex County)
• Frankie Mitchell, 47, Chicopee, Massachusetts
• Patrick Anthony Stanley, 27, Cliffside Park (Bergen County)
• Sable Sofia Edwards, 26, Cliffside Park (Bergen County)
• Nicky Anderson, 38, Rutherford (Bergen County)
• Ericka Mitchell, 32, Cliffside Park (Bergen County)
• Teresa Vanessa Butch, 28, Ft. Lee (Bergen County)

The defendants no longer reside at those addresses. Three of the twelve defendants are fugitives and the subject of Arrest Warrants.

They are:

• Tim Mitchell
• Frankie Mitchell
• Teresa Butch

The Indictment alleges that the twelve defendants are members of a criminal racketeering enterprise which specifically targeted the elderly and others for theft through deceptive conduct.

According to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office:

Male members of the enterprise specifically targeted the homes of elderly persons for distraction burglaries and thefts.

Female members of the enterprise:

• Targeted elderly men for theft by deception.
• Operated a psychic shop in Fort Lee for the purpose of committing theft by deception.
• Conspired together to commit health care claims fraud and insurance fraud by filing fraudulent slip-and-fall claims with insurance companies and third party administrators.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the Grand Jury charged the male defendants with residential burglaries and thefts, and attempted burglaries and thefts, committed between December 2013 and March 2015 in:

• Somerset County
• Bergen County
• Camden County
• Hudson County
• Middlesex County
• Ocean County
• Somerset County
• Union County

Similar distraction burglaries and thefts were committed or attempted in Westchester and Queens County in New York. Stanley Mitchell was charged separately with receiving stolen property arising from his possession of property stolen during various residential burglaries,

The Grand Jury Indictment further alleges that the three female defendants conspired together to target octogenarian men for theft while simultaneously committing insurance fraud.

Specifically, the Indictment alleges that between December 2012 and July 22, 2015, Sable Edwards, along with her cousins Ericka Mitchell and Teresa Butch, were responsible for submitting 18 fraudulent personal injury claims to insurance companies and third party administrators who represent commercial businesses, according to the prosecutor’s office.

The Indictment alleges that phony slip-and-falls were staged at a number of businesses throughout the Tri-State area.

In each instance, one or more defendants entered hospitals located in North Jersey claiming a head injury. In each instance, the “patient” was examined by medical personnel in the emergency room and, in many instances, received x-rays and cat-scans to rule-out the claimed injury.

Thereafter, the defendants submitted the hospital bills directly to the stores’ insurance adjuster for payment.

In several instances, defendants submitted a “surgery proposal” along with the hospital bill to boost the amount of the fraudulent claim.The prosecutor’s Office said the total amount of the fraudulent claims exceeded $150,000.00 of which the defendants netted approximately $36,000.00 from the scheme.

While many of the claims were denied by weary insurance adjusters, other claims were negotiated and settled.

The investigation confirmed that insurance checks were then cashed by the defendants using fictitious names at check-cashing entities located in Green Brook (Somerset County) and Jersey City (Hudson County).

The prosecutor’s office said that the Indictment also alleges that defendant Sable Edwards, along with her purported common law husband Patrick Stanley, committed second degree theft by deception associated with their operation of a psychic stop along Main Street in Fort Lee (Bergen County).

The Indictment alleges that a terminally ill person was conned into surrendering more than $75,000.00 in United States currency to the defendants after being convinced that money was the source of her illness.

This complex investigation was undertaken to among other things, identify any additional potential victims in Somerset County. Fortunately it was determined that the defendants limited their contact with Somerset County residents.

The Prosecutor’s Office would like to acknowledge and thank those agencies that provided substantial assistance and professional expertise during the operation:

• Hillsborough Twp. Police Department
• Montgomery Twp. Police Department
• New Jersey State Police
• Somerville Police Department
• Bayonne Police Department
• Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office
• Cherry Hill Police Department
• Clinton Twp. Police Department
• Edgewood Police Department
• Edison Police Department
• Ft. Lee Police Department
• Los Angeles (CA) Police Department
• Medford (MA) Police Department
• New York City Police Department
• Montgomery County (MD) Police
• Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office
• Paramus Police Department
• Pennsauken Police Department
• Readington Twp. Police Department
• Suffolk County (NY) District Attorney’s Office