TRENTON - Attorney General Peter C. Harvey
announced that the former owner and chief
executive officer of a now-defunct Camden
mental health counseling center has been
sentenced to state prison after being
convicted of submitting more than $137,900
in fraudulent bills to the Medicaid Program.
The Medicaid Program, which is funded
by the state and federal governments,
provides health care services and prescription
drugs to persons who may not otherwise
be able to afford such services and medicines.
The State of New Jersey administers the
Medicaid Program through the Division
of Medical Assistance and Health Services
and through the Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Section,
which investigates both criminal and civil
Medicaid fraud.
According to Vaughn L. McKoy, Director,
Division of Criminal Justice, and Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden-Brown, Eliezer
Martinez, 57, Arthur Avenue, Camden, former
owner and chief executive officer of Hispanic
Counseling Center and Family Services
of New Jersey, Inc., Camden, was sentenced
on Jan. 21 by Camden County Superior Court
Judge Thomas A. Brown, Jr. to five years
in state prison and was ordered to pay
more than $275,900 in criminal fines and
$137,900 in restitution. On Oct. 27, 2004,
Martinez was convicted by a Camden County
jury on charges contained in a May 31,
2002 State Grand Jury indictment filed
by the Division of Criminal Justice -
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
The indictment charged Martinez with Health
Care Claims Fraud (2nd degree) and Medicaid
Fraud (3rd degree).
“This sentence sends a strong message
that the Division of Criminal Justice
- Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
will vigorously prosecute crimes against
the Medicaid Program,” Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden-Brown said.
“Theft from the Medicaid Program
is particularly offensive because it is
not only a theft of taxpayer money, it
is a theft from people who rely on Medicaid
for health care and related services.”
Fraud Prosecutor Gooden-Brown noted that
between May and December 1998, Martinez
and the employees of the Hispanic Counseling
Center billed the Medicaid Program for
more than $137,900 for counseling services
that were never provided. Claims for payment
were submitted to the Medicaid Program
for hour-long counseling sessions that
were actually shorter in duration; for
more counseling sessions than were actually
provided; and for individual therapy sessions
for certain patients that actually received
counseling in group therapy sessions.
Deputy Attorneys General Erik Daab and
William Hoyman represented the Division
of Criminal Justice - Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the
trial. State Investigators Carlos Ortiz
and Joseph Jaruszewski coordinated the
investigation. In addition, the Division
of Medical Assistance and Health Services,
Bureau of Program Integrity assisted in
the investigation.
Noting that some important cases have
begun with anonymous tips from the public,
Prosecutor Brown emphasized that individuals
can make a difference. “We need
people’s information, not their
identities. People who are concerned about
insurance cheating and have any information
about a fraud can call our toll-free hotline
at 1-877-55-FRAUD, or
visit our Web site at www.NJInsurancefraud.org
.”
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