Monmouth County Woman Sentenced To Three Years In Prison

A Middletown woman has been sentenced to three years in prison for submitting more than $500,000 in fraudulent healthcare claims to her insurance company, authorities said.

Donna Dzienisewski, 41, of Middletown, was sentenced by state Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr., sitting in Freehold.

“More than 100 times, Dzienisewski lied to her insurer so that she could enrich herself with well over $100,000 over a two-year span,” acting state Attorney General Hoffman said in a prepared statement. “The egregious and dishonest nature of her crime has rightfully led to a prison term.”

She is a registered nurse and was accused of using a doctor’s business information on the claims, according to NJ.com.

When Dzienisewski pleaded guilty in October to a second-degree charge of health care claims fraud, she admitted that between March 2011 and March 2013, she submitted 107 claims to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, according to a news release from the state.

Those claims “gave the false impression that she incurred approximately $502,740 in total reimbursable expenses for health care services,’’ according to the news release from Hoffman and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.

According to that news release:

Dzienisewski did not visit the doctor on 101 of those occasions.

She incurred about $2,640 in medical expenses for the other six claims, but she altered the invoices that corresponded to those claims to make it seem as if she’d incurred $8,640 in medical expenses.

She deposited $141,126 into her bank account as a result of her fraudulent activity.

“Defrauding an insurance company is not the path to easy money, it is the road to prison,” acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi said in a prepared statement. “We will continue to vigorously prosecute these cases and seek punishment for those who commit these crimes.”

Deputy Attorney General Bradford Muller handled the state’s case at sentencing, while Deputy Attorney General T.J. Harker and Detectives Wendy Berg and Matthew Armstrong coordinated the investigation. Analyst Kelly Celenza provided substantial assistance with financial analysis.

Photo courtesy New Jersey Attorney General’s Office