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Office of the District Attorney P. David Soares
Husband and Wife Team Found Guilty in Insurance Scheme Case ALBANY , NY – District Attorney P. David Soares today announced that JOSEPH and RENEE HOUGHTALING were both found guilty after trial by jury of (1) count of Falsifying Business Records in the 1st Degree before the Honorable Stephen Herrick. FRANK HOUGHTALING was found guilty of two unindicted pattern acts that support the Enterprise Corruption charge. JOSEPH HOUGHTALING was remanded into the custody of the Albany County Sheriff. RENEE HOUGHTALING is remanded until a bail increase of $10,000, from $15,000 to $25,000, is posted. RENEE HOUGHTALING faces 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison and JOSEPH HOUGHTALING faces 2 to 4 years in prison. Between May 6, 2001 and January 2, 2003, in the County of Albany and elsewhere JOSEPH and RENEE HOUGHTALING made or caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise with the intent to defraud, and their intent to defraud included an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission of Insurance Fraud in the 3 rd Degree. Statement from DA Soares: “Most importantly, I would like to thank the members of the jury for their time, commitment and service to the people of Albany County throughout this process. I would also like to thank the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles, the NYS Insurance Fraud Bureau, the NYS Police, NYPTI, Computer Visions, Albany, Colonie and Bethlehem Police Departments, and ADA’s Brad Sherman, Shannon Sarfoh and Brian Conley for the thousands of hours spent over the last two years investigating and prosecuting this case. “As I have said from the beginning, this case is very complex involving eight defendants, two guilty pleas, 22 fraudulent insurance claims and more than 10,000 documents and pieces of evidence. An additional 10 fraudulent insurance claims were precluded from the jury in a pre-trial ruling. “Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime and affects all drivers and homeowners as insurance rates continue to rise at unprecedented rates. Additionally, the crimes involved in this case pose serious public safety threats, these defendants were intentionally driving their cars into innocent victims. “Joseph Houghtaling and Renee Houghtaling are flagged as criminals and will no longer be able to commit these illegal acts with ease. Acts of insurance fraud are very serious crimes and this office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute these offenses.” Sentencing for JOSEPH and RENEE HOUGHTALING is scheduled for July 9, 2007. # # # For further information contact: Heather Streeter Orth
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