Former Wildwood mayor pleads guilty to fraudulently obtaining state health benefits

Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Former Wildwood mayor pleads guilty for involvement in healthcare scam
Former Wildwood mayor pleads guilty for involvement in healthcare scam

WILDWOOD, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Former Wildwood Mayor Peter Byron pleaded guilty on Monday to fraudulently participating in the State Health Benefits Program.

In a statement, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Byron also pleaded guilty to failing to identify, in mandatory disclosure forms, his outside employment and failing to report income from that outside job on state tax returns.

According to investigators, by fraudulently participating in the program, the 68-year-old and others to access healthcare benefits that they were not entitled to.

"Illegally obtaining benefits is not what holding public office should be about. Rather, it should be about honorably serving the people you represent," said Platkin in a statement. "This was a self-serving, nearly decade-long betrayal of the public's trust that saddled New Jersey residents with a six-figure bill for the defendant's personal gain."

Byron pleaded guilty to one count of theft by unlawful taking in connection with the health benefits fraud case, authorities said.

In another case involving Byron failing to properly identify a job as a source of income in 2017 and 2018, he pleaded guilty to falsifying or tampering with records and filing a fraudulent tax return.

Byron resigned from his municipal office in September 2023 and admitted to the cries during a hearing last Friday.