A New Jersey woman has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $170,000 by falsifying invoices that she sent to an insurance company regarding out-of-pocket expenses she purportedly incurred for in-home healthcare services provided to her ailing husband. State Attorney General Jeff Chiesa says Loreta Fontanilla pleaded guilty to theft by deception.

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Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 16.  Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Fontanilla be sentenced to three years in state prison.

In pleading guilty, Fontanilla admits that she stole $169,900 by submitting 71 falsified independent care provider monthly invoices to the MetLife Insurance Company (MetLife) for health care services purportedly provided to her husband.  An investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined that Fontanilla substantially overstated the amount of hours of nursing care provided to her husband as well as the amount that she paid the nurses for the care.

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