Former N.J. Business Executive Charged in Health Insurance Scam

New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory Paw reported that a former Gloucester County business executive, sentenced in Gloucester County Superior Court, has been ordered to repay more than $80,000 in stolen monies obtained through a fraudulent health insurance coverage scam.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Bernard Gelman, 65, of Philadelphia, formerly of Atlantic Avenue, Longport, Atlantic County, was sentenced by Gloucester County Superior Court Judge John Tomasello to pay more than $80,000 in restitution, pay a $5,000 civil fine, and serve three years probation.

Gelman pleaded guilty to a criminal accusation charging theft by deception before Judge Tomasello on Dec. 16, 2005.

In pleading guilty, Gelman, a former senior executive at The Holt Group (THG), located in Gloucester County, reportedly admitted that he falsified information to fraudulently obtain disability benefits for his son, Kevin Gelman. Kevin Gelman had been an employee at Holt Oversight & Logistical Technologies (HOLT), an affiliate of THG, from February 1997 to April 1998.

An investigation by the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor reportedly determined that in July 1998, Bernard Gelman ordered HOLT’s Director of Risk and Insurance Management to alter the date of his son’s resignation from the company so that he (Kevin) could obtain disability insurance coverage under a new policy that went into effect after his departure.

According to the accusation, more than $80,000 was obtained from Prudential Insurance Company as the result of the alleged fraud.