State v. Toscano

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Pashman, J.

Defendant Joseph Toscano was convicted of conspiring to obtain money by false pretenses in violation of N. J. S. A. 2A:98-1. Although admitting that he had aided in the preparation of a fraudulent insurance claim by mailing out a false medical report, he argued that he had acted under duress. The trial judge ruled that the threatened *424harm was not sufficiently imminent to justify charging the jury on the defense of duress. After the jury returned a verdict of guilty, the defendant was fined $500.

The Appellate Division affirmed the conviction.…