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Former Brick Township Employee Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Stealing More than $940,000 in Claims from Township Health Insurance Program

Kim-Bogan[1]

January 7,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Brick Township NJ,  Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP) announced that a former Brick Township employee today was sentenced to five years in state prison for stealing more than $940,000 from the township’s health insurance program.

Kim E. Bogan, 52, of Brick, was sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement reached when she pleaded guilty to second-degree theft by deception on October 24, 2017. She must also pay $941,354.77 in restitution to Brick Township under the terms of the plea agreement and sentence imposed by Superior Court Judge Linda G. Baxter in Ocean County.

During her plea hearing, Bogan, who worked in the township’s Building Department, admitted that between January 2011 and April 2017 she assisted an-out-of-state health care practitioner in submitting false claims to her employee health insurance program, which is self-funded by Brick Township. The claims were for treatments purportedly rendered to individuals covered under Bogan’s policy.

Bogan admitted she allowed the practitioner to submit claims on her insurance for services she knew had not been rendered and then endorsed the insurance checks when they were mailed to her, knowing the money was stolen.

“This defendant is going to prison for willingly participating in a health care claims scheme that cost Brick Township taxpayers – her own friends and neighbors – nearly a million dollars,” said Attorney General Porrino. “Her sentence sends a message that stealing money from health care plans is a serious crime with serious consequences, no matter what role you play in the illegal plot.”

“Through her illegal acts, the defendant stole taxpayer dollars meant to cover health care services for township employees. In addition to serving time in prison, she will be responsible for repaying those stolen funds,” said Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Christopher Iu. “We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute individuals who commit these kind of health care claims crimes.”

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Sign Thieves At It Again Stealing Stop Sign from Grove Street And Stevens Avenue In Ridgewood

street signs

July 21,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood, N.J.  It seems we write this story every summer , once again Stop signs and other road signs are disappearing in Ridgewood, in what has now turned into an annual and costly event.

Ridgewood police said a stop sign at Grove Street and Stevens Avenue was stolen this week. Creating a dangerous hazard for unsuspecting drivers .

Ridgewood Chief of Police Jacqueline Luthcke spoke with CBS News on why street sign thievery is an ongoing problem in Ridgewood.

Luthcke said ,“We generally average two to three per month for stop signs,” she said. “When it comes to all other types of signs, by the end of the year, it’s over 100.”

Luthcke continued stating the problem spikes in the summer. “Summertime is always one of the hardest, because although the kids think it’s not a problem – they want to take it off to college with them – it’s really something that is both a financial and a safety issue.”

According to Luthcke last year, it was such a big problem that Ridgewood offered amnesty to anyone willing to bring back the stolen goods.

“The amnesty that we did last year got an amazing amount of signs back,” Luthcke said. “We haven’t had a discussion yet this year.” Its was reported the over 20 signs were returned during the amnesty period.

In April of this year a social media post led to a Wyckoff man being charged with theft after police found a picture of him with stolen street signs from the village .

If they are caught and convicted, sign thieves face fines and even jail time.

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Ex-Ridgewood inspector apologizes for stealing nearly half a million dollars in quarters

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Ex-Ridgewood inspector apologizes for stealing nearly half a million dollars in quarters

JULY 9, 2014, 2:39 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014, 2:57 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

HACKENSACK — Ridgewood’s former public works inspector repeatedly apologized on Wednesday for stealing nearly half a million dollars in loose parking meter quarters from the village.

“I am sorry for what I have done,” Thomas Rica told Judge Patrick Roma moments before being sentenced to five years’ probation. “I am very sorry. I’m…I’m just sorry.”

Rica, who lives in Hawthorne, was employed by the village for 10 years before his arrest early last year.

As part of a plea deal accepted by Roma Wednesday, Rica plead to four counts of third-degree theft, and will pay back a little more than half of what he admits he stole from his former employers.

Rica admitted in March to taking the coins over more than two years from a storage room within Village Hall.

Defending the plea agreement Wednesday, Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Daniel Keitel said it took months to negotiate and will “get as much of the money back to the public as quickly as possible.”

Had the state tried Rica for second-degree theft, Keitel said he may have faced five years behind bars, but would not have been legally bound to return any of the stolen money

Rica’s lawyer, Robert Galuntucci, handed Keitel a check during Wednesday’s proceedings for $64,337.55 — his client’s initial downpayment.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ex-ridgewood-inspector-apologizes-for-stealing-nearly-half-a-million-dollars-in-quarters-1.1048475#sthash.KjdspT3o.dpuf