School Board Member Admits Stealing Benefits To Help Ex-Wife: Police

A Maple Shade Board of Education employee pleaded guilty to using his position to fraudulently obtain health insurance benefits for his ex-wife and to repaying a personal pension loan with money from a school district account, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced.

Salvatore Yacovelli, 46, of Barrington, pleaded guilty on July 19 to charges of second-degree insurance fraud and third-degree official misconduct. Yacovelli was employed as a payroll and benefits specialist for the school district.

Yacovelli faces a total of four years in New Jersey state prison, and he must make restitution to the school district. His pension has been forfeited and he will be forbidden from public employment upon release from prison. He has not been detained pending sentencing on Nov. 8.

From December 2011 through November 2016, Yacovelli admits that he lied to the district about being married to 39-year-old Gina Yacovelli, of Barrington, Coffina said.

They were actually divorced, but Yacovelli withheld that information from the district in an attempt to get medical and dental benefits for her under his insurance policy. Multiple insurance claims were filed and paid during that period, costing the district $47,239.08, according to Coffina.

Police also said that Yacovelli obtained a pension loan in the amount of $4,989.96, and he repaid the money from a school district account. Charges of Insurance Fraud and Theft by Unlawful Taking are pending against Gina Yacovelli.

The case was prosecuted by Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Dennis, supervisor of the BCPO Insurance Fraud Unit. It was investigated by the Maple Shade Police Department, with assistance from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. The lead investigator was Maple Shade Police School Resource Officer Misty Weiss.

The attached image of Salvatore Yacovelli was provided by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office