ALBANY, N.Y., December 21 – New York City commercial fleet owners who allegedly falsely registered their vehicles in upstate, New York counties in order to pay lower insurance rates have been arrested, according to information that was released by the Albany district attorney, and provided to Insurance Advocate by the New York State Insurance Department.

Albany District Attorney P. David Soares said that the defendants have allegedly fraudulently reduced their insurance premiums by a total of $1,426,863. Of that amount, Soares said that $944,665 was derived from a location in East Berne, N.Y.

The arrests included:

Petar Bojilov, of the Bronx;

Roben Allonce, of Brooklyn; Peter J. Albano, of Brooklyn;

Richard Shavel, of Monroe NY;

Harris J. Thorpe, of the Bronx;

Zeev Lichtick, of Brooklyn;

Roman Ashurov, of Brooklyn;

Winston A. Mclean, of Rosedale, N.Y.

The fleets consisted of high-end limos, according to Andy Mais, spokesman for the Insurance Department.

Soares said that inter-agency cooperation led to the arrests of the suspects, and he noted that the investigation included agents from the New York City Police Department, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, the New York State Insurance Department, and the Office of the District Attorney.

This case was brought to this office by the New York State Insurance Department, Soares said. It is yet another example of how this office serves as a criminal prosecution arm of the state government.

Insurance Department Superintendent Howard Mills said, Aggressive fraud prosecution has helped New Yorkers save half a billion dollars in insurance premiums this year. The department will continue to work with other law enforcement agencies to fight fraud and protect honest New Yorkers.

If convicted on all counts, each defendant faces up to seven years in state prison, according to Soares. Albano and Shavel, who are charged with C felonies, face up to 15 years.