Insurance fraud is a significant issue in New Jersey.
Paul Zoubek, director of the Division of Criminal Justice, said Elias was a former licensed insurance broker whose license was revoked pursuant to a consent order entered in 1994 and effective retroactively to 1992. Despite this, Elias continued to engage in insurance related activity. In January 1998, Elias allegedly sold a fraudulent insurance identification card to an undercover officer and in July 1998, sold a fraudulent insurance card to a private citizen. In August 1998, the State filed a civil suit seeking to stop Elias from engaging in insurance related conduct. The indictment, returned by the State Grand Jury, alleges that Elias continued to engage in insurance related conduct to include supplying phony insurance documents.