Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
David Samson, Attorney General
Peter C. Harvey, Director, Division of Criminal Justice
Greta Gooden Brown, Insurance Fraud Prosecutor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Paul Loriquet, (609) 292-4791

May 28, 2002

TRENTON - Attorney General David Samson today announced that a Perth Amboy woman pleaded guilty to charges that she fraudulently collected approximately $25,000 in Social Security disability insurance benefits.

According to First Assistant Attorney General and Division of Criminal Justice Director Peter C. Harvey, Zena Lecoff, also known as Zena Lecoff-Walker, 39, of Market Street in Perth Amboy, pleaded guilty to theft by deception and falsifying or tampering with records. Lecoff-Walker had been charged with one count of third degree theft by deception and one count of fourth degree falsifying or tampering with records in an indictment returned by the State Grand Jury on Feb. 26, 2002.

At today’s guilty plea hearing before Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Phillip Lewis Paley, Lecoff-Walker admitted that between 1996 and 2000, she fraudulently obtained Social Security benefits totaling approximately $25,000. Lecoff-Walker admitted that she falsified records certifying that she was unemployed and receiving no income when, in fact, she was actually working and receiving an income and not entitled to Social Security disability benefits. In order to continue receiving Social Security disability insurance benefits, Lecoff-Walker admitted that she falsified the Social Security Administration Continuing Disability Interview Form.

The investigation was conducted by the Division of Criminal Justice’s Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP) in conjunction with the Cooperative Disability Investigations Unit (CDIU) which includes the Division of Criminal Justice, the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General and the New Jersey Department of Labor’s Division of Disability Determination Services. State Investigator John Neggia and Deputy Attorney General Sheri Tanne coordinated the investigation. DAG Tanne presented the case to the State Grand Jury.

"This office continues to investigate cases alleging theft from disability insurance programs, including private insurance and government sponsored plans such as Social Security. The bottom line is this - working and earning income while collecting disability insurance is theft and the crime will be investigated and prosecuted," said Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown.

Edward J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Investigations for the Social Security Administration, New York Field Division, praised the investigative efforts of the CDIU and the cooperative spirit of the federal and state agencies in fighting disability fraud.

"Although most people who file disability claims are truly disabled, the small amount of people who file false claims take money out of a system that is intended to help those who genuinely deserve benefits. The CDIU will continue to investigate allegations of fraudulent disability claims in an effort to crackdown on disability fraud in private and government sponsored disability insurance programs," Ryan said.

Lecoff-Walker is scheduled to appear before Judge Paley on July 22 to be sentenced.

Noting that some important cases have begun with anonymous tips from the public, Prosecutor Brown encouraged New Jersey residents concerned about insurance cheating and who have information about insurance fraud to contact the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor toll-free hotline at 1-877-55-FRAUD, or visit the Division’s web site at www.NJInsurancefraud.org .

Housed in the Department of Law and Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Justice and reporting to the Attorney General, the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was established by the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act of 1998 (AICRA). The Office is the centralized state agency that investigates and prosecutes civil and criminal insurance fraud and Medicaid fraud. Criminal convictions for insurance fraud can result in fines and imprisonment, while civil penalties can include substantial fines and referral for revocation or suspension of professional licenses.