New Jersey Woman Gets Prison Term for Filing False Claims With Insurer

A New Jersey woman who submitted more than $500,000 in fraudulent health care claims to her insurer is now headed to prison.

State authorities say 41-year-old Donna Dzienisewski, of Middletown, received a three-year term when she was sentenced last Friday. She had pleaded guilty last October to health care claims fraud.

Dzienisewski admitted that between March 2011 and March 2013, she submitted 107 claims to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey that gave the false impression she had incurred approximately $502,740 in total reimbursable expenses.

In reality, she had only visited the doctor six times and incurred about $2,640 in legitimate medical expenses. Authorities said she altered the medical invoices corresponding to those claims to falsely show that she had incurred $8,640 overall in medical expenses.

Dzienisewski admitted depositing $141,126 that she profited from the scheme into her personal bank account. But authorities have not said what she did with the money that she fraudulently obtained.

“More than 100 times, Dzienisewski lied to her insurer so that she could enrich herself with well over $100,000 over a two-year span,” acting state Attorney General John Hoffman said. “The egregious and dishonest nature of her crime has rightfully led to a prison term.”