By: Najla Alexander
NJ AG authorities announced that four people have been indicted for their roles in a scheme to file fraudulent travel insurance claims.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin states that Agustin Matos, 40, of North Haledon, New Jersey; Kenia Ivonne Vasquez, 44, of Bronx, New York; and Keyra Carla Liriano, 45, and Patricio Arturo Alfonso, 46, both of Fort Lee, New Jersey; are each charged with one count of conspiracy (second degree); insurance fraud (second degree); attempted theft by deception (third degree); impersonation/theft of identity (third degree); and falsifying/tampering with records (fourth degree).
Liriano is additionally charged with theft by deception (third degree). The indictment by a state grand jury was returned on December 5, 2025, NJ AG officials said.
“The defendants in this case are charged with coming up with a simple—yet potentially lucrative—scam by taking out multiple travel insurance policies and then filing claims against them for trips they never actually took and for medical emergencies they allegedly fabricated,” said Attorney General Platkin.
“This case underscores the importance of close cooperation between my office and the insurance industry,” said Interim Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Al Garcia.
According to NJ AG officials, OIFP received a referral from the Special Investigation Unit of American International Group Inc. (AIG). From April 2022 to August 2023, in Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic counties, New York, and elsewhere, the defendants allegedly opened several travel insurance policies with multiple insurance companies, covering the same trip to the same foreign destination.
When applying for these policies, they allegedly used false identities and provided credit card information linking them, NJ AG authorities say.
The defendants allegedly then filed claims with each carrier, falsely asserting they had been hospitalized abroad and had incurred thousands of dollars in medical expenses covered under the travel insurance policies, NJ AG officials said. The defendants allegedly submitted identical information to multiple carriers while certifying they had no other insurance covering the medical expenses or the trip.
OIFP’s investigation revealed that the defendants had not traveled to the countries as alleged, and they had never been hospitalized as they claimed. Almost all records submitted by defendants to insurance companies as part of this scheme were allegedly altered, fraudulent, or wholly fabricated, according to NJ AG officials.
NJ AG officials stated that most of the insurance companies denied the fraudulent claims. However, Liriano is charged with theft by deception for allegedly obtaining $14,835 in claim payments from two carriers.
Together, the four defendants attempted to defraud the insurance companies of approximately $252,852 as follows: Matos - $19,986; Vasquez - $27,812; Liriano - $37,226; and Alfonso - $167,829, NJ AG authorities said.