Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced today that Rasheedah Dunell, 48, of Newark has been convicted of 3rd degree insurance fraud, following a trial before the Honorable Peter Ryan, Judge of the Superior Court.
Assistant Prosecutor John Russell, who tried the case, said, Dunell was a passenger on a Coach USA bus servicing the Newark Penn Station – Dover Street route on Aug. 12, 2011.
The bus was involved in a minor traffic accident on South Orange Avenue in Newark.
Dunell filed an insurance claim for neck and back injuries that she claimed she sustained when thrown against the rear of the bus while standing and preparing to exit the bus. Video footage from the bus, however, showed Dunell sitting calmly in her seat and laughing with another passenger at the time of the accident.
Dunell is scheduled to be sentenced on April 3, 2017. The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Insurance Fraud Division of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.