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Poor Conditions, Fraud: State Seizes Control Of 2 NJ Nursing Homes Poor Conditions, Fraud: State Seizes Control Of 2 NJ Nursing Homes
Poor Conditions, Fraud: State Seizes Control Of 2 NJ Nursing Homes A pair of South Jersey nursing homes, riddled with poor conditions and alleged Medicaid fraud, have been turned over to the control of an independent receiver, authorities said. The state Comptroller previously suspended the owners of Deptford Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare and Hammonton Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare from New Jersey Medicaid. A Superior Court judge ordered the appointment of Allen Wilen of the Eisner Advisory Group, LLC to run the nursing homes effective June 17, according to the New Jersey Comptroller's Office. The judge's appointment means that the r…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Kickbacks Convinced Doc To Scam Medicare Out Of Nearly $21 Million: NJ Feds Kickbacks Convinced Doc To Scam Medicare Out Of Nearly $21 Million: NJ Feds
Kickbacks Convinced Doc To Scam Medicare Out Of Nearly $21 Million: NJ Feds A doctor pocketed cash kickbacks from lab companies and others for filing more than $20.7 million in bogus Medicare claims for medically unnecessary -- and often expensive -- COVID and cancer genetic tests, among other scams, a federal grand jury in Newark has charged. Alexander Baldonado, 68, of Queens already was awaiting trial dating back to charges brought a few years ago when grand jurors in Newark this week returned a superseding indictment that digs deeper into the allegations. Baldonado approved lab tests billed to Medicare in exchange for cash payoffs "from a laboratory representat…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Business Owner From NY Admits $127M Health Care Kickback Scheme: Feds Jersey Shore Business Owner From NY Admits $127M Health Care Kickback Scheme: Feds
Jersey Shore Business Owner From NY Admits $127M Health Care Kickback Scheme: Feds A New Jersey marketing company owner from Rockland County admitted in federal court that he was a major figure in scamming Medicare, TRICARE and other benefit programs out of $127 million. Eric Karlewicz, 44, of Chestnut Ridge, NY, participated in a “circular scheme of kickbacks and bribes” with doctors, durable medical equipment businesses and telemedicine companies to pull off the massive con, U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna said. Karlewicz – also known as Anthony Mazza -- used his considerable cut from $63.8 million in payoffs to buy himself a fleet of luxury vehicles that included a Ferrari,…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Electrocution Survivor Loses Insurance Benefits, Jersey Shore Friends Rally To Pay His Bills Electrocution Survivor Loses Insurance Benefits, Jersey Shore Friends Rally To Pay His Bills
Electrocution Survivor Loses Insurance Benefits, Jersey Shore Friends Rally To Pay His Bills A Monmouth County man survived being electrocuted but suffered burns over 40 percent of his body. Now, he faces the painful task of paying medical bills after his Medicare coverage was cut. More than $28,000 has been raised in this GoFundMe page to support Paul Roberts, of Fair Haven, who accidentally hit a live wire while cutting a tree branch last August. Per a GoFundMe organized by Paul's friends, Carrie and Ron Drazin: "He was being electrocuted for approximately 20 minutes with his body literally in flames when the police arrived.  When the power was turned off, he fell 25 feet f…

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by Jon Craig
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GUILTY: Fort Lee Doc With Clifton Practice Convicted Of Multi-Million-Dollar Medicare Fraud GUILTY: Fort Lee Doc With Clifton Practice Convicted Of Multi-Million-Dollar Medicare Fraud
Guilty: Fort Lee Doc With Clifton Practice Convicted Of Multi-Million-Dollar Medicare Fraud A rheumatologist from Fort Lee was convicted of billing Medicare and other health insurance programs for nearly a decade for services that patients never got and expensive medication that her Clifton practice never bought, federal authorities said. Alice Chu, 64, went to trial in U.S. District Court in Newark after federal authorities accused her of submitting more than $8.8 million in bogus claims for "items and services that were medically unnecessary, ineligible for reimbursement, and/or not provided as represented," court papers show. Jurors found her guilty on Tuesday, March 8 of consp…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Doc Took Bribes From Pharma Company For Toxic Fentanyl Prescriptions: Feds NJ Doc Took Bribes From Pharma Company For Toxic Fentanyl Prescriptions: Feds
NJ Doc Took Bribes From Pharma Company For Toxic Fentanyl Prescriptions: Feds A doctor from Central Jersey is accused of taking bribes and kickbacks in exchange for prescribing potentially fatal doses of fentanyl, authorities said. Mukaram Gazi, 51, of Marlboro in Monmouth County was charged with conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, receiving kickbacks, health care fraud and conspiring to unlawfully distribute dangerous narcotics, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig. According to Thursday's indictment: Gazi owned a urology practice with offices in Freehold, Hamilton, Howell and Toms River.  Gazi received more than $130,000 in bribes and…

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by Jon Craig
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Feds In NJ Charge Rockland Doc, Wife With $1.3M Genetic Testing Scheme Feds In NJ Charge Rockland Doc, Wife With $1.3M Genetic Testing Scheme
Feds In NJ Charge Rockland Doc, Wife With $1.3M Genetic Testing Scheme COVID-19 hardly fazed a Rockland doctor who, with his wife, continued to collect bribes and kickbacks in exchange for ordering millions of dollars in genetic tests from his offices in Pennsylvania, a federal grand jury in Newark charged. Yitzchok “Barry” Kurtzer, 61,and Robin Kurtzer, 60, both of Monsey, collected monthly cash kickbacks and bribes ranging in exchange for “collecting DNA samples from Medicare patients and sending them for genetic tests to clinical laboratories in New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael Honig said. The payoffs ranged up $5,00…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Hudson Doctor's Employee Admits Role In $24.8M Kickback Scheme Hudson Doctor's Employee Admits Role In $24.8M Kickback Scheme
Hudson Doctor's Employee Admits Role In $24.8M Kickback Scheme UPDATE: Dominoes continued to fall in the federal takedown of a $24.8 million kickback scheme when a Jersey City woman who worked for a local doctor took a plea deal. Yudelka “Vicky” Ayala, 42, admitted conspiring with six co-defendants associated with the now-defunct Prime Aid Pharmacy in Union City to boost prescription sales through kickbacks and bribes to health care professionals in New Jersey and New York. Prime Aid, which also had a location in the Bronx, processed expensive medications used to treat various conditions, including Hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
South Jersey Prosecutor Warns Of COVID-19 Vaccine Scams South Jersey Prosecutor Warns Of COVID-19 Vaccine Scams
South Jersey Prosecutor Warns Of Covid-19 Vaccine Scams If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, according to a South Jersey prosecutor who says fake coronavirus promises already are surfacing. Now that COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and are starting to be administered in New Jersey and worldwide, the Camden County Prosecutors Office is warning people about potential vaccine scams. “A lot of people, especially those in high-risk groups, are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel with the news of an approved vaccine, and that excitement could make them susceptible to scams,” said Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer. “We …

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by Jon Craig