Local NJ Insurance Fraud Highlights: Man Sentenced for Torching Vehicle in Insurance Scam, Another Sentenced for an Internal Insurance Embezzlement Scheme

The New Jersey Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor has been busy!

John Lange Jr. of the Morristown Minute reported on two New Jersey men who have both been sentenced to prison terms in separate insurance fraud cases; one involving arson and the other embezzlement.

Here are the details of the cases, according to Lange:

“Yoel Arencibia Cabrera, 42, of Elizabeth, was sentenced to five years in state prison on June 13, 2025, following his guilty plea to second-degree insurance fraud. According to investigators, Cabrera orchestrated an arson scheme involving his 2023 Acura MDX. On July 1, 2023, Cabrera paid co-defendant Jesus Lopez, 46, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to set the vehicle ablaze. Cabrera subsequently filed a fraudulent insurance claim with Progressive Insurance, which flagged the incident for investigation. Lopez remains a fugitive; charges against him are pending and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.”

“In a separate case, Timaahd Barnes, 34, of Clementon, was sentenced to five years in state prison on May 30, 2025, for orchestrating an internal embezzlement scheme. While employed as a remote claims adjuster for CSAA Insurance Group, Barnes illegally diverted funds from valid claims to himself on approximately 70 occasions between August and October 2022, totaling $390,851. Barnes later executed a similar scheme at Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, diverting over $75,000 between August 2023 and April 2024. He pled guilty to two counts of second-degree theft by deception,” and “As part of the sentence, the court ordered $101,092 in seized funds from Barnes to be split evenly between the two affected insurers—$50,546 to CSAA and $50,546 to Reliance Standard.”

These cases are prime examples of insurance fraud driving up costs for everyday consumers.

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