Feds Sink NJ Plot to Collect Insurance

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip that started from a New Jersey dock and ended with a sunken ship.

Back in August of 2009, the fishing boat Alexander II sank of the coast of Cape May. More recently, on December 19^th, a former crew member of the boat admitted that he participated in a plot to sink the ship in exchange for the insurance payout.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Erik James, 40, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy for destroying the Alexander II. James entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb in Camden federal court.

On November 16, 2011, the owner of the boat, Scott Tran, 38, pleaded guilty to an Indictment that charged him with one count of conspiracy to destroy a vessel on the high seas, coming clean about the fact that he did so in order to collect $400,000 from the company that insured the boat. Tran’s right-hand man, Manh Nguyen, 58, also pleaded guilty the same day to a charge of a similar conspiracy offense. Another crew member, Christopher Martin, 40, also plead guilty to conspiracy on November 14^th.

According to documents that were filed in the case and the statements that were made during the proceedings:

The defendants engaged in a scheme to sink the Alexander II so that Tran could collect on an insurance policy with State National Insurance Company. In July 2009, Tran hired a captain for the ship, whom Tran and Nguyen then solicited to sink the Alexander II in return for payment. The captain then recruited a crew, including James and Martin, to help him sink the boat.

On August 2, 2009, the Alexander IIleft Cape May, N.J. on its last voyage. And although the boat didn’t have much fuel, ice, food, or any of the other supplies that are needed for a lengthy fishing trip, the ship’s log falsely stated that over 50 fish, weighing approximately 3,000 pounds, had been caught.

Then, once the Alexander II reached a point of about 86 miles southeast of Cape May, the captain and his crew worked together in an unsuccessful attempt to sink it.

James admitted that he agreed to participate in the sinking of the boat in exchange for $2,000.

The count to which James pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the amount of loss caused by the offense. In addition, the government will seek restitution for expenses, including attorney fees, which the insurance company has racked up in order to defend the lawsuit.

Additional victims also include the U.S. Coast Guard, which devoted many resources to rescuing the captain and his crew, and the salvage and towing companies that brought the boat back to shore and repaired it. James sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2012.