FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Raymond Worrall

PHONE: (201) 795-6400 Ext. 6737

EMAIL: rworrall@hcpo.org

TWITTER: @HCPOProsecutor

WEB: hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org

DATE: Wednesday, February 14, 2018

JERSEY CITY YACHT OWNER ARRESTED FOR INSURANCE FRAUD

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

On Friday, February 9, 2018, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Insurance Fraud Unit arrested Kerwin Rigaud, age 46, of Jersey City, following a four-month investigation into allegations of insurance fraud. The allegations include fabricating claims and exaggerating damages from 2014 to the present in schemes to defraud multiple insurance companies of more than $200,000.

Rigaud, an accountant, has been charged with multiple insurance fraud violations related to his yacht, “Miss Behaving,” which he berths at Liberty Harbor Marina in Jersey City.

Rigaud has been charged with five or more acts of Insurance Fraud in violation of N.J.S. 2C:21.4.6(c), a second-degree crime, and Theft by Deception in violation of N.J.S. 2C:20-4, a second-degree crime.

Rigaud surrendered to members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Insurance Fraud Unit at the Hudson County Administration Building on Newark Avenue in Jersey City while accompanied by his attorney. He made his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Jersey City on February 13, 2018.

The Prosecutor’s Office began its investigation after being contacted in October 2017 by New Jersey’s Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor. The case was originally generated by a tip to the OIFP by a Special Investigator affiliated with one of the involved insurance companies.

The above charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).