TRENTON, N.J. – Somerset County man C.R. Kraus, 58, of Manville, New Jersey, was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, five acts of healthcare fraud, and four counts of tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Kraus was convicted of all 10 counts of an indictment following a trial before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi in Trenton federal court. In January 2023, Kraus’s conspirators, Harry Pizutelli and Maritza Flores, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and tax evasion relating to defrauding the New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury Fund (TBI Fund) of millions of dollars for their own personal benefit.
“This defendant was convicted of multiple crimes for his role in a conspiracy that resulted in the theft of millions of dollars earmarked for victims of traumatic brain injuries. Stealing resources intended to help New Jersey residents who are already coping with serious challenges is especially egregious. My office, and our law enforcement partners, are always working to root out this kind of criminal activity and ensure the guilty face appropriate punishment.”
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger
“People battling to regain their lives after surviving a traumatic brain injury, and then digging out from the astronomical costs of healthcare related to the injury are the victims in this case,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “Those people should have been the recipients of money from a fund created specifically to help them, not Kraus and his co-conspirators. I want to commend the outstanding work of the investigators and prosecutors in this investigation who successfully fight each day to seek justice against criminals who believe their crimes may not harm or impact anyone. It does, and they will be held accountable.”
The TBI Fund is a publicly funded program run by the New Jersey Division of Disability Services, a component of the New Jersey Department of Human Services. The TBI Fund’s purpose is to provide New Jersey residents who have suffered a traumatic brain injury with services and support in order to maximize their quality of life when funding from insurance, personal resources, or other programs is unavailable to meet their needs.
From 2009 through June 2019, Pizutelli, Kraus, and Flores conspired to defraud the TBI Fund by misappropriating more than $4 million in fraudulent vendor payments for purported services that were never actually provided. Pizutelli orchestrated the distribution of fraudulent vendor payments to Flores and Kraus by generating and processing false invoices and internal payment vouchers.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zach Intrater and David Dorian of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Health Care and Government Fraud Unit and the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit.
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Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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