Bergen County Office Manager Pleads Guilty
to $7,000 Insurance Fraud Scam

TRENTON - Attorney General Zulima V. Farber and Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that a Bergen County office manager has pleaded guilty to theft for submitting more than $7,000 in insurance claims for services that were never rendered.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Carol Ann Benvenuto, 44, of Lodi, pleaded guilty before Bergen County Judge Harry G. Carroll in Superior Court to a criminal accusation filed by the Division of Criminal Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor which charged third-degree theft by deception. When sentenced on June 30, Benvenuto faces up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000. In addition, Benvenuto faces civil insurance fraud fines.

At the guilty plea hearing, Benvenuto, office manager for the Lodi Internist Group, admitted that between Aug. 7, 2001 and Sept. 10, 2002, she submitted more than $7,000 in phony health insurance claims to Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield (HBCBS). An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined that Benvenuto, who was a receptionist at the time of the incident, submitted fraudulent receipts along with the claims for services that were never rendered and for which payment was never made to her doctors. HBCBS paid out more than $1,900 from the claims before referring the matter to the Division of Criminal Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.

State Investigator Janet Amberg and Deputy Attorney General Joan M. Burke handled the case. DAG Burke represented the Division of Criminal Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the April 13 guilty plea hearing.