|
TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Passaic County woman has been indicted
for allegedly using another person’s
health insurance card to fraudulently obtain
benefits.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Jacqueline Goodwin, 44, of Paterson,
was indicted yesterday by a state grand
jury on charges of second-degree health
care claims fraud, third-degree theft by
deception and fourth-degree falsification
or alteration of medical records. The indictment
was filed today in Superior Court in Mercer
County.
The indictment alleges that between November
2004 and June 2005, Goodwin falsified patient
and insurance information in order to cause
false health insurance claims to be submitted
to Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Specifically,
it is alleged that Goodwin used the insurance
beneficiary card of an employee of the Paterson
Board of Education to obtain health insurance
coverage to which she was not entitled for
surgery and treatment at the Foot and Ankle
Institute of North Jersey. Horizon paid
approximately $6,134 in false claims.
State Investigator Michael Duffield and
Deputy Attorney General Cheryl A. Maccaroni
were assigned to the investigation. Maccaroni
represented the Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor before the state grand jury.
This
case was referred to OIFP by the Special
Investigative Unit of Horizon Blue Cross/Blue
Shield which initially uncovered the fraud
and assisted OIFP in the investigation.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanks
Horizon for their involvement in this matter.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Second-degree crimes carry a sentence
of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of
$150,000, while third-degree crimes carry
a sentence of up to five years in prison
and a fine of $15,000. Fourth-degree crimes
carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison
and a fine of $10,000.
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.
#
# # |
