TRENTON
- Attorney General Zulima V. Farber announced
that a suspended Camden County Probation
Officer has been convicted in Gloucester
County Superior Court on charges of swindling
the New Jersey State Health Benefits Plan
(SHBP) out of more than $23,000 by misrepresenting
his marital status and falsely claiming
a girlfriend as a spouse.
According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Greta Gooden Brown, Lionel Maldonado,
41, N. Delsea Drive, Clayton, Gloucester
County, was convicted of theft by deception
following an eight-day jury trial before
Gloucester County Superior Court Judge
Walter L. Marshall, Jr. Maldonado, scheduled
to appear before Judge Marshall on March
24 for sentencing, faces up to five years
in state prison, a fine of up to $15,000,
and restitution.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown noted
that Maldonado was charged via a State
Grand Jury indictment returned on June
6, 2005. The indictment charged Maldonado
and his former girlfriend, Marisol Perez,
33, Roosevelt Avenue, Glassboro, Gloucester
County, with falsifying records and theft
from the SHBP. Perez is scheduled to stand
trial before Judge Marshall on Feb. 27.
The Gloucester County jury found that
between 1990 and 2000, Maldonado bilked
the SHBP out of more than $23,000 while
employed as a Public Health Investigator
for the Camden County Department of Health
and more recently as a Camden County Probation
Officer. The jury determined that Maldonado
falsified the SHBP group enrollment application
by fraudulently enrolling Perez as his
“wife.” As a legal dependant
wife, Marisol Maldonado would have been
entitled to health care benefits provided
to Lionel Maldonado.
The jury also found that Maldonado continued
to fraudulently use the benefits provided
by the SHBP after appointment to the position
of Camden County Probation Officer in
1992. Maldonado continued to perpetuate
the fraud against the state and county
health benefits plans until April, 2000,
when Maldonado deleted Perez from all
insurance coverage on the grounds that
they had separated. In September of 2001,
Maldonado reported that he was widowed.
Investigation by the Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor determined that Maldonado
and Perez were never legally married and,
consequently, Marisol Perez was not entitled
to insurance coverage as Maldonado’s
purported spouse.
“Submitting
false health insurance claims is a serious
offence and a form of public corruption,”
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown said.
“This crime was committed against
the New Jersey State Health Benefits Plan
and represents a theft of tax dollars
and a breach of the integrity of the State
Health Benefits system."
Deputy Attorney General Tanya Y. Justice
prosecuted the case. State Investigator
Carlos Ortiz, assigned to the Division
of Criminal Justice - Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor, coordinated the investigation.
The New Jersey Division of Pensions and
Benefits assisted in the investigation.
Additional information about this case
and insurance fraud is available via the
Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s
Web site at NJInsurancefraud.org.
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