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TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that an Ocean County certified nurse assistant
has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for
stealing pain medication from a 93-year-old
nursing home patient.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Helen Williamson, 25, of Manahawkin,
was sentenced Friday by Superior Court Judge
Barbara Ann Villano in Ocean County to 30
days in jail as a condition of four years
probation. She also was ordered to perform
250 hours of community service as a condition
of her probation. Williamson was sentenced
pursuant to her guilty plea to neglect of
an elderly person, a charge contained in
an Oct. 25, 2006 Ocean County grand jury
indictment.
At
the Jan. 24 guilty plea hearing before Judge
Villano, Williamson admitted that in October
2004, she stole duragesic medication patches
from a patient at the Manahawkin Convalescent
Center. A duragesic patch time releases
pain medication to patients requiring such
therapy. Williamson allegedly cut the patches
open and ingested the medication. She was
dismissed from her job at the convalescent
center
State
Investigator Anthony Iannice and Deputy
Attorney General William Hoyman handled
the case for the Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Control
Unit, which investigates Medicaid fraud
as well as abuse or neglect of the elderly
and disabled. Hoyman represented the Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing.
The
matter will be referred to the Department
of Health and Senior Services, which certifies
Nurses’ Assistants, for any action
deemed appropriate regarding Williamson’s
certification.
Prosecutor
Brown noted that some important cases have
started with anonymous tips. People who
are concerned about insurance cheating and
have information about a fraud can report
it anonymously by calling the toll-free
hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD
or visiting the Web site www.NJInsuranceFraud.org.
State regulations permit an award to be
paid to an eligible person who provides
information that leads to an arrest, prosecution
and conviction for insurance fraud.
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