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TRENTON
– Attorney General Stuart Rabner and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that a Wildwood man was sentenced
today for health insurance claims fraud.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Joseph Venziano, 66, of Wildwood,
was sentenced to five years probation by
Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten in Cape
May County. He also was ordered to pay $9,393
in restitution to Aetna Life Insurance Company.
Venziano was sentenced pursuant to his guilty
plea to third-degree theft by deception,
a charge contained in a Cape May County
grand jury indictment returned in November.
At
his guilty plea hearing on Feb. 1 before
Judge Batten, Venziano admitted that between
October 18, 2002 and December 30, 2003,
he falsely represented that he remained
married to his former wife so that she would
be eligible as a dependant spouse for health
insurance benefits. Health insurance benefits
were provided through Venziano’s employer
by the Aetna Life Insurance Company, and
the policy provided that those benefits
would end if the marriage ended. Venziano
was divorced in 1998, but Aetna paid $9,393
to various health care providers for services
rendered to the former wife during the period
in question.
State
Investigator Janessa Jones and Deputy Attorney
General Peter W. Lee were assigned to the
investigation. Lee represented the state
at sentencing.
“People who intentionally misrepresent
their marital status to obtain insurance
benefits face more than a denial of benefits
if they are discovered; they can be convicted
of a crime,” said Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor Brown. “Unfortunately,
this type of conduct is far too common.”
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 at 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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