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TRENTON - Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that a Hackettstown couple pleaded guilty today to insurance fraud for falsely claiming to be married so the woman could submit more than $10,000 in fraudulent health insurance claims.
According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Matthew Saleeby, 49, and Carla Boudreau, 38, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Harry G. Carroll in Bergen County to separate accusations charging each with third-degree insurance fraud. Third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a criminal fine of $15,000.
At the guilty plea hearing, Saleeby admitted that he falsely advised his employer that Boudreau was his wife so that Boudreau would be covered on a small employer group health insurance plan. Saleeby’s employer was the Mountain View Bar & Grill in Long Valley.
Likewise, Boudreau admitted that she submitted or caused to be submitted health insurance claims even though she was not married to Saleeby and was therefore not eligible for coverage on the health insurance plan as Saleeby’s spouse. Typically, small employers provide health insurance coverage for their employees and the dependants of their employees. In total, the Oxford Health Insurance Company paid approximately $10,317 in claims for Boudreau that it should not have paid because Boudreau was not Saleeby’s spouse.
Detective Thomas Ference and Deputy Attorney General Susan Kase were assigned to the investigation into this case. Kase represented the state at the guilty plea hearing.
“Those who lie on health insurance applications violate the laws of the state and do so at a significant cost to people who play by the rules,” said Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown.
This case was referred to OIFP by the Special Investigative Unit of the Oxford Health Insurance Company which initially uncovered the fraud and assisted OIFP in the investigation. Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanked Oxford for its assistance in this matter.
Saleeby and Boudreau are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Carroll on May 30.
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