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TRENTON - Attorney General
Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director
Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced that a Bergen
County dentist was sentenced today for submitting
fraudulent insurance claims and allowing an
unlicensed person to perform dental work on
patients.
According to Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Louisa Correa-Hunter,
43, of Paramus, a dentist licensed in New
Jersey, was ordered by Superior Court Judge
Donald R. Venezia in Bergen County to serve
one year probation and to pay a $350 criminal
fine. Prior to pleading guilty to an accusation
charging her with theft by deception, Correa-Hunter
paid $200,000 in restitution to Delta Dental
and a $65,000 civil fine. The matter will
also be referred to the state Board of Dentistry.
At the Feb. 24 plea hearing, Correa-Hunter,
the owner and operator of Sunrise Dental on
Forest Avenue in Paramus, admitted that between
Jan. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2007, she allowed
an employee, Adriana Manzano, to perform teeth
cleanings on patients even though Manzano
was not licensed to perform them as required
by law. Correa-Hunter also admitted that she
billed Delta Dental for those services, which
were not reimbursable because they were not
performed by a licensed person.
Manzano, 42, of Lodi, pleaded
guilty on Jan. 27 to third-degree theft by
deception and was subsequently admitted into
the pre-trial intervention program.
Detective Christine Barclay,
Civil Investigator Robert Sorge, and Deputy
Attorney General Cheryl A. Maccaroni were
assigned to the investigation. Deputy Attorney
General Maccaroni represented the Office of
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing.
Prosecutor Brown thanked Delta Dental for
its assistance in this matter.
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