Newark Cop Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud

A 17-year veteran of the Newark Police Department admitted Friday he set fire to his own car in an attempt to collect on a phony insurance claim, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Johnathan Taylor, 42, a Plainfield resident, pleaded guilty to third-degree insurance fraud and will be sentenced in January. Taylor is expected to receive probation but will surrender his job on the department and will be barred from future public employment.

In March 2012, Taylor reported his Toyota Sequoia stolen, and it was soon discovered engulfed in flames on Wainwright Avenue. Taylor filed a claim with his insurance company. Investigators later determined Taylor or an accomplice actually set the Toyota on fire.

Taylor was making high monthly payments on the vehicle, which had more than 100,000 miles on it, Assistant Prosecutor Jason Hollingsworth said.