Former N.J. Carrier Employee Sentenced

New Jersey’s Division of Criminal Justice Director Vaughn McKoy announced that a former Middlesex County insurance carrier employee has been sentenced to prison for reportedly 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, was ordered by Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Frederick DeVesa on Oct. 15 to serve 60 days in county jail, followed by five years probation. Padilla must also pay $12,000 in restitution.

On July 1, Padilla pleaded guilty to charges contained in a criminal Accusation filed by the Division of Criminal Justice – Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor. At the guilty plea hearing, Padilla admitting 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 reportedly 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.