2 Wildwood mayors, city commissioner indicted in connection to alleged health insurance fraud
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) – Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron is among three city officials indicted for their alleged connection to fraudulent participation in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), the New Jersey attorney general announced Wednesday.
AG Matthew Platkin announced that a state grand jury has, once again, indicted Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron, as well as former Mayor Ernest Troiano, Jr. and current City Commissioner Steve Mikulski for health insurance fraud. The latest indictment reinstates charges that were previously dismissed "without prejudice" last month.
Platkin said a state grand jury in Trenton handed down the 12-count indictment on Monday, charging the trio with official misconduct, theft by unlawful taking, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records, according to a press release.
The indictment of Mayor Byron comes as he waits to hear his fate regarding another case, where he pleaded guilty to federal tax fraud for failing to declare more than $40,000 in income from a law firm.
The grand jury's decision comes after New Jersey Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury, Jr., in Cape May County, granted Troiano's motion to dismiss the initial March indictment in June, which dropped the case for all three defendants. However, because of this decision, it gave the Attorney General's Office an opportunity to re-present the case to a state grand jury.
Prosecutors allege that Byron, Troiano and Mikulski fraudulently enrolled in the SHBP and received publicly funded health benefits despite not being "full-time" employees in accordance with New Jersey laws.
Troiano and Byron, who were both elected to the Wildwood city commission in 2011 and when Troiano was sworn in as mayor, both voted to pass a resolution that declared themselves full-time employees in an attempt to justify their enrollment in the SHBP. However, Platkin alleges that neither worked a regular full-time schedule, defined as "35 or more hours per week," and falsely signed and submitted timesheets indicating they worked full days Monday through Friday.
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As a result of their alleged false submissions, Wildwood and the SHBP paid more than $286,500 in premiums and claims on behalf of Troiano from July 2011 through December 2019, and paid nearly $607,000 on behalf of Byron from July 2011 through October 2021.
Then, in 2020, Mikulski became a member of the Wildwood Commission and eventually enrolled in the SHBP as well, where SHBP paid over $13,000 on his behalf through October 2021, according to prosecutors. It is also alleged that Mikulski knowingly made false statements in a form submitted to the city.
A complaint-summons in June 2022 prompted the initial charges, and Mikulski and Bryon's coverage was subsequently terminated.
Deputy Attorneys General Brian Uzdavinis and Niccole Sandora are prosecuting the case for the OPIA Corruption Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Peter Lee and OPIA Deputy Director Anthony Picione, with the assistance of Detectives of the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption South Unit.
