Ex-Wildwood Mayor Admits To Illegally Getting Health Benefits

WILDWOOD, NJ — The former mayor of Wildwood admitted to fraudulently receiving state health benefits and failing to report income on his tax returns.

Peter J. Byron, who resigned his municipal post in Sept. 2023, pleaded guilty to one count of theft by unlawful taking (2nd degree) in connection with the health-benefits fraud case, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) announced. In respect to the other case where he did not Byron further pleaded guilty to falsifying or tampering with records (4th degree) and filing a fraudulent tax return (3rd degree).

The 68-year-old admitted to the crimes during a hearing on Sept. 27.

Byron's plea agreement with the Corruption Bureau of OPIA settles both indictments against him and in exchange for the guilty pleas, prosecutors have agreed to recommend that the court impose an aggregate sentence of three years in New Jersey state prison. Byron also must pay restitution and enter a consent order with a lifetime ban on public office and employment.

“Illegally obtaining benefits is not what holding public office should be about. Rather, it should be about honorably serving the people you represent,” Platkin said. “This was a self-serving, nearly decade-long betrayal of the public’s trust that saddled New Jersey residents with a six-figure bill for the defendant’s personal gain.”

“As this case demonstrates, the career prosecutors in OPIA’s Corruption Bureau will relentlessly pursue those who abuse public resources and public office and will hold them accountable,” said OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner.

Before the state benefits case, Byron was sentenced to three years probation in a federal case for failing to report income to the IRS.

In July 2023, a state grand jury in Trenton returned a 12-count indictment against Byron, current Wildwood Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr., and City Commissioner Steve Mikulski on charges of official misconduct, theft by unlawful taking, and other offenses, in connection with the alleged health-benefits fraud.

The three were unable to participate in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) and receive publicly funded healthcare because they were never full-time employees, which is a requirement, Platkin said. Their hours of work were not fixed at 35 or more per week, they did not receive vacation, sick, or personal days, and they did not maintain a regular schedule - but they still enrolled in the program and illegally received taxpayer-funded health benefits, Platkin said.

As a result, Wildwood and the SHBP paid nearly $609,000 in premiums and health-benefits claims on behalf of Byron from July 2011 through Oct. 2021, Platkin said.

In April 2024, a seven-county indictment was returned against Byron, accusing him of using his prior commissioner position to unlawfully pursue and obtain employment from an attorney who had a contract with the City of Wildwood and held official appointed positions with the City, Platkin said.

Byron then submitted required annual financial disclosure statements to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs in which he failed to properly identify the job with the attorney as a source of income in 2017 and 2018, Platkin said.

Additionally, Byron did not pay required state income tax on income earned in New Jersey in 2017 and 2018, Platkin said. The investigation found Byron's New Jersey income tax return falsely omitted required New Jersey-sourced income earned during those years.

The case against Troiano and Mikulski is ongoing.