TRENTON - Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced that a licensed social worker was sentenced today for submitting fraudulent time sheets to her employer for counseling services for troubled youths.

Rashmi Gupta, 40, of Paramus, was sentenced to five years of probation by Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark in Passaic County. Gupta was ordered to pay $10,117 in restitution and agreed to pay a $10,117 civil fine.  Gupta will also be debarred from Medicaid for five years.  In addition, the matter is being referred to the New Jersey Board of Social Work Examiners for possible action against Gupta's license to practice social work in New Jersey.  Gupta’s sentence was based on her May 21 guilty plea to an accusation charging her with third-degree Medicaid fraud.

In pleading guilty, Gupta, a licensed social worker previously employed by The Youth Success Network (TYSN) in Passaic, admitted that between July 24 and December 22, 2010, she submitted her time sheets for in-community counseling services to TYSN, when those services were not provided to the extent claimed. TYSN submitted claims to the Medicaid program and compensated Gupta in the amount of $10,177, based on Gupta’s fraudulent time sheets.

Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi noted that Deputy Attorney General David Noble, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Chief Nicole Rizzolo and Detective Luisa Sanchez were assigned to the case.  The matter was referred to the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor by TYSN after it was notified by a client that Gupta was not providing the required services.   

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