Couple Indicted In $150K Medicaid, SNAP Fraud

An Ocean County couple has been indicted on charges of theft by deception and tax fraud after an investigation showed they received more than $150,000 in Medicaid and food stamps that the family was not entitled to, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Yosaf Laskin, 43, and his wife, Gila Neger, 42, were indicted Thursday, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.

Laskin was indicted on charges of theft by deception, Medicaid fraud and tampering with government records, Della Fave said. It is alleged that he provided false information in his applications for New Jersey Family Care and received benefits of approximately $148,000 between November 2010 and July 2013, he said.

Neger was indicted on theft by deception and tampering with government records. It is alleged that she filed a false application for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrional Assistance Program and received approximately $8,000 in benefits, he said.

Both Laskin and Neger were also indicted for filing fraudulent tax returns for the tax years of 2010 and 2011. The general nature of the allegations is that income was understated in the Medicaid, SNAP and tax matters, Della Fave said.

Laskin faces up to 10 years in prison on the charge of theft by deception in the second degree. The remaining counts are all third-degree charges and the defendants face up to five years in prison, he said.

The couple was arrested in late August on the charges.

Superior Court Judge Wendel Daniels set bail at $75,000, no 10 percent, for Laskin, and at $5,000, no 10 percent for Neger. Both have since posted bail, according to jail records

The matter was jointly investigated by the prosecutor’s office and the New Jersey State Comptroller’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Division and with assistance from the New Jersey Division of Taxation.

(Photos courtesy Ocean County Corrections Department)