Former N.J. Carrier Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing Unearned Overtime Pay

New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Director Vaughn McKoy announced that a former Middlesex County insurance carrier employee has pleaded guilty to falsifying overtime records in order to receive additional pay to which she was not entitled.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden-Brown, Rosemarie Padilla, 44, of Avenel, Middlesex County, pleaded guilty before Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Frederick DeVesa to an Accusation filed by the Division of Criminal Justice – Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, charging her with one count of theft by deception (3rd degree). When sentenced on Oct. 15, Padilla faces up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

At the guilty plea hearing, Padilla reportedly admitted that between January 2001 and May 2003, in her position as paymaster of her department, she entered the Prudential Insurance Employee Overtime computer system and fraudulently entered overtime hours that she purportedly worked, but did not actually work. She also admitted that, on occasion, she used the identification and password of a co-worker to enter the Overtime computer system without consent.

An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice – Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor revealed that, as the result of the scheme, Padilla fraudulently collected more than $34,000 in overtime pay from the Prudential Insurance Company.