TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Voorhees woman has been indicted
for allegedly stealing more than $9,000
from an elderly nursing home resident.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Mary Ellen Wright, 64, of Voorhees,
was charged on Friday with third-degree
theft by unlawful taking.
The Camden County grand jury indictment
alleges that between June 1, 2006, and February
28, 2007, Wright held a power of attorney
for an elderly resident in the Voorhees
Center, a long-term care facility in Voorhees.
The power of attorney required Wright to
accept Social Security and pension monies
paid to the resident and turn them over
to the Voorhees Center as payment for the
resident’s care. It is alleged that
Wright did not turn over money and, in fact,
stole money for her own purposes. She allegedly
failed to turn over a total of approximately
$9,428 to the Voorhees Center on behalf
of the resident, who died in February 2007.
Detective
Anthony Iannice and Deputy Attorney General
William Hoyman were assigned to the investigation
into this case. Hoyman presented the case
to the Camden County grand jury.
“The
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, as
part of its statewide mandate to investigate
insurance fraud, routinely investigates
fraud and abuse associated with the Medicaid
program, including patient abuse cases,”
Prosecutor Brown said. “The theft
allegedly committed by this defendant represents
not only a direct abuse of an elderly patient,
but also an indirect abuse of the Medicaid
program, which is designed to provide quality
care for patients who could not otherwise
afford it.”
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Third-degree crimes carry a maximum
punishment of five years in state prison
and a criminal fine of $15,000.
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