Employee scammed Brick out of $1M with brother who later jumped to death

BRICK — A former employee of the township's building department, who was also the daughter of a former mayor, worked with her now-dead brother to file almost $1 million in bogus health insurance claims, according to Attorney General Christopher Porrino.

Kim E. Bogan, 52, admitted to submitting false claims to the township's health insurance program and pocketing more than $941,354 between January 2011 and April 2017. Porrino said the claims were filed by her brother, a chiropractor, for people covered under Bogan's health insurance policy.

Bogan came clean after Township Administrator Joanne Bergin uncovered the wrongdoing during a review of health care claims.

Township officials said the doctor was Glenn Scarpelli, who committed suicide with his wife Patricia by jumping from a Manhattan office building this summer. Authorities did not say whether his suicide was related to this investigation.

"The defendant allowed the practitioner to submit claims in her name for services never rendered, and endorsed the insurance checks when they were mailed to her, knowing the money was stolen," Porrino said. "What's even more disturbing is that she went along with the scheme knowing that the taxpayers of Brick Township — her friends and neighbors — would be responsible for picking up the tab for the bogus claims."

Bogan is the daughter of former Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli, who served jail time for his role in a bribery scheme. He resigned in 2006 after 13 years in office and just before pleading guilty to accepting close to $5,000 from a developer over a five year period.

Bogan pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree theft by deception and as part of the plea agreement will be sentenced to five years in prison. She will also be required to repay $941,354 in restitution to the township.

“The fraudulent claims submitted by Ms. Bogan were uncovered through an investigation by my administration," Mayor John G. Ducey said Tuesday in a written statement. "In the course of a review of health care claims, we noticed an unusual amount of claims by one employee for chiropractic services administered in New York City.  We immediately contacted Horizon, our health care provider and claims administrator, which referred the matter to the Attorney General for investigation and prosecution.”

More From New Jersey 101.5

Contact reporter Adam Hochron at 609-359-5326 or Adam.Hochron@townsquaremedia.com