TRENTON - Attorney General
Paula T. Dow and Division of Criminal Justice
Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that
a former employee of a Camden County nursing
home has been charged with stealing money
from a patient at the facility.
According to Acting Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli, Tristan Chang,
23, of Blackwood, was charged yesterday
(July 13) with third-degree theft by unlawful
taking and third-degree hindering one’s
own apprehension.
The Camden County grand
jury indictment alleges that on Feb. 22,
2010, Chang, who was an employee at a long-term
care nursing facility located in Stratford,
Camden County, stole over $500 from a patient
at the facility. An investigation by the
Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s
Patient Protection Unit, which is part of
the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, revealed
that Chang allegedly used the ATM card and
PIN number of the hospice patient, who has
since died, to unlawfully withdraw $700,
the full amount that was in the patient’s
bank account.
The indictment further alleges
that on April 14, 2010, Chang gave false
information to a law enforcement officer,
thereby hindering his apprehension.
Detective Anthony Iannice
and Deputy Attorney General Linda A. Rinaldi
were assigned to the investigation. DAG
Rinaldi presented the case to the Camden
County grand jury.
“The Office of the
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor routinely investigates
fraud and abuse associated with the Medicaid
Program, including patient abuse cases,”
said Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Dagli.
“The theft allegedly committed by
the defendant in this case represents not
only a direct abuse of a hospice patient,
but also an indirect abuse of the Medicaid
program which is designed to provide quality
care for patients who could not other wise
afford medical care.”
The indictment is merely
an accusation. The defendant is presumed
innocent until proven guilty. Third-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of five
years in state prison and a criminal fine
of $15,000.
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