A luxury car-loving East Harlem cop was in handcuffs Thursday, charged in an elaborate sequence of auto insurance frauds — for repeatedly faking claims of damage or theft as he switched rides over the course of two years.
Disgraced Officer Jose Urena, 32, was so brazen in his frauds, that he staged an accident in The Bronx between his 2009 Mercedes-Benz ML350 and a U-Haul, then within a year claimed his next Mercedes, a 2007 ML350, had been stolen — just one day before its lease was to expire, prosecutors said.
That second Mercedes turned up the next day — “burned out in a warehouse district in the Bronx,” Assistant Attorney General Chin-Ho Cheng said as Urea was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday afternoon.
All in all, Urena claimed a total of $60,000 in fake damages and theft, the AG’s office alleged.
“The Attorney General’s office has set forth a compelling case against your client,” Justice Neil Ross told the cop’s lawyer in setting bail at a steep $35,000 cash or bond.
Urena, who lives in Yonkers, could not immediately post the bail, his lawyer, Craig Hayes, said in court.
The cop has been on the force for nine years, and denies the allegations, the lawyer told the judge in asking unsuccessfully that the cop be allowed to walk out of court without bail.
Instead, the stubbly-faced officer, who pleaded not guilty in a clear, firm voice, was led back to a holding cell.
He is suspended without pay, an NYPD spokesperson said, and is due back in court on Dec. 10.
Urena committed four frauds involving three cars, officials with the office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are alleging.
The first fraud was in May 2012, when Urena told Nationwide Insurance that his leased Mercedes had been vandalized. Nationwide paid him $9,000, but Urena used the money to repair pre-existing damage to the car, prosecutors said.
The second fraud was in January 2013, when Urena reported the same Mercedes stolen just one day before his lease was to expire — and just one week after cashing a $6,000 insurance check for repairs that were never made, prosecutors said.
Hours after the alleged theft, the charred Mercedes was found at a warehouse in Hunts Point, prosecutors said.
The third alleged fraud was a doozy: in March, 2013, Urena allegedly intentionally rear-ended a U-Haul truck, also in The Bronx, conning Geico into writing off the Mercedes as a total loss. Prosecutors declined to comment on whether the U-Haul’s driver was in on the fraud.
Finally, in July, Urena submitted a claim to Geico after his latest car, a 2011 Dodge Charger, was involved in an apparently legitimate accident. Urena inflated the amount of damage in order to collect a $7,500 payout — but used the loot to pimp his ride with a new grille, pricey tires, and a painted roof, prosecutors allege.
He has been charged with first degree scheme to defraud, insurance fraud, grand larceny, criminal mischief and falsifying business records, according to the indictment against him.