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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Cumberland County social worker pleaded
guilty today to stealing more than $70,000
from an elderly nursing home patient.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Alexander Gotay, 45, of Egg Harbor,
pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge
John Waters in Cumberland County to a criminal
accusation which charged him with third-degree
theft by unlawful taking.
Gotay admitted that between Aug. 2, 2002
and Jan. 6, 2005, he stole approximately
$70,000 from an elderly patient, who has
since died, at the Lincoln Specialty Care
Center in Vineland. Gotay admitted that
he withdrew the victim’s life savings
from her various bank accounts and also
stole the proceeds from the sale of her
former residence. He admitted that he deposited
the money into his personal bank account
for his own use.
State Investigator Anthony Iannice and Deputy
Attorney General William Hoyman were assigned
to the investigation. Hoyman represented
the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
at the guilty plea hearing.
Gotay is scheduled to appear before Judge
Waters on Sept. 21 to be sentenced. Third-degree
crimes carry a maximum punishment of five
years in state prison and a criminal fine
of $15,000. This matter will also be referred
to the Board of Social Work Examiners for
any action deemed appropriate regarding
Gotay’s social worker’s license.
The
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was
established by the Automobile Insurance
Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is
the centralized state agency that investigates
and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance
fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.
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