Office of the District Attorney

P. David Soares
6 Lodge Street
Albany, New York 12207
(518) 487-5460
(518) 487-5093 FAX
www.albanycountyda.com

ALBANY, NY – ALBANY, NY - District Attorney P. David Soares today announced the arrests of:

• PETER J. ALBANO, 48, of 1902 Coleman Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
• RICHARD SHAVEL, 44, of 74 Bonney Court, Monroe NY
• HARRIS J. THORPE, 34, of 4062 Laurie Place, Bronx, NY
• PETAR BOJILOV, 30, of 3419 Irwin Road, Bronx, NY
• ROBEN ALLONCE, 46, of Ocean Ave 5K Brooklyn NY
• ZEEV LICHTICK, 53, of 2057 East 68th Street, Brooklyn, NY
• ROMAN ASHUROV, 35, of 1201 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY
• WINSTON A. McLEAN, 59, or 254-24 Craft Avenue, Rosedale, NY

on multiple counts of Insurance Fraud in the 2nd and 3rd degrees and Offering a False Instrument in the 1st Degree. The counts are all "C", "D", and "E" felonies.

The defendants are accused of fraudulently using locations in upstate New York including a location in East Berne, NY, to register their fleets of vehicles which are operated in the City of New York. By falsely registering their vehicles in counties where commercials insurance rates are relatively low these defendants have fraudulently reduced their insurance premiums by a total of $1,426,863. $944,665 of this amount was derived from the location in East Berne.

According to District Attorney Soares, these cases hit everyone right in the pocketbook. "Any time insurance companies are defrauded like this, law abiding citizens of Albany County pay the price," DA Soares, said.

Superintendent of insurance Howard Mills added, "Aggressive fraud prosecution has helped New Yorkers save half a billion dollars in insurance premiums this year. The Department will continue to work with other law enforcement agencies to fight fraud and protect honest New Yorkers."

Soares praised the inter-agency cooperation which led to the arrests of the suspects this morning noting that the investigation included agents from the NYC Police Department, the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles, the NYS Insurance Department. The New York Automobile Insurance Plan, and the Office of the District Attorney. "This case was brought to this Office by the NYS Insurance Department," Soares said. "It is yet another example of how this Office serves as a criminal prosecution arm of the state government," he added.

If convicted on all counts, each defendant faces up to seven years in state prison. ALBANO and SHAVEL who are charged with "C" felonies face up to 15 years.

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For further information contact: Rachel McEneny