newjerseynewsroom.com

A former employee of a Camden County nursing home has been charged with stealing money from a patient.

Tristan Chang, 23, of Blackwood, is charged with third-degree theft by unlawful taking and third-degree hindering apprehension, state Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli said Wednesday.

A Camden County grand jury indictment alleges that on Feb. 22, Chang, who was an employee at a long-term care nursing facility located in Stratford, stole over $500 from a patient at the facility. An investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor's Patient Protection Unit revealed that Chang allegedly used the ATM card and pin number of the hospice patient, who has since died, to unlawfully withdraw $700, the full amount that was in the patient's bank account.

The indictment further alleges that on April 14, Chang gave false information to an investigator, an action that hindering his arrest.

Det. Anthony Iannice and Deputy Attorney General Linda A. Rinaldi were assigned to the investigation. Rinaldi presented the case to the grand jury.

"The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor routinely investigates fraud and abuse associated with the Medicaid Program, including patient abuse cases," Dagli said. "The theft allegedly committed by the defendant in this case represents not only a direct abuse of a hospice patient, but also an indirect abuse of the Medicaid program which is designed to provide quality care for patients who could not other wise afford medical care."

Third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a criminal fine of $15,000.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM