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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that an Essex County chiropractor has pleaded
guilty today for his role in an insurance
fraud scheme.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Samuel Sbarra, 49, Nutley, pleaded
guilty before Superior Court Judge Donald
J. Volkert, Jr. in Essex County to a criminal
accusation charging him with third-degree
attempted theft by deception.
At
the guilty plea hearing, Sbarra, a chiropractor
licensed in New Jersey, admitted that between
Nov. 2 and Nov. 18, 2005, he submitted a
phony claim to the Chubb Insurance Company.
Sbarra admitted he falsely submitted a claim
to Chubb Insurance reflecting that he had
provided 18 dates of chiropractic services
for a total of $1,844. Chubb Insurance denied
the claim and referred the matter to the
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
State
Investigator Lisa Shea, Civil Investigator
Errol R. English, and Deputy Attorney General
Stephen J. Cirillo were assigned to the
investigation. Cirillo represented the Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty
plea hearing.
The
Special Investigative Unit of the Chubb
Insurance Company assisted OIFP in the investigation.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanks
Chubb for their involvement in this matter.
"When
health care providers commit fraud it is
particularly disturbing, because the integrity
of the health care insurance claims process
depends on the trustworthiness of the licensed
professionals involved,” Fraud Prosecutor
Brown said. “The Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor will continue to vigorously
investigate and prosecute this type of criminal
activity."
Sbarra
is scheduled to appear before Judge Volkert
on Nov. 29 to be sentenced. Third-degree
crimes carry sentences of up to five years
in state prison and a criminal fine of up
to $15,000. Sbarra also may face civil insurance
fraud fines. The matter will be referred
to the Chiropractic Board for any action
deemed appropriate by the board.
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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