NEWARK – An insurance producer from Lakewood admitted in court Monday to filing false statements to affiliates of the health insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield in order to obtain $1.5 million in fraudulent claims, authorities said.
Ford on Courts: Does everyone get a trial?
UP NEXT
Jonas Knopf, 65, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements related to a health care benefits program, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said in a news release. The hearing was held by videoconference before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Freda L. Wolfson.
Knopf, who was the CEO of Lakewood-based Madison Financial Services and was a licensed insurance producer tasked with selling insurance products, helped create two “sham companies” which existed only to market health insurance coverage to people who were not his employees, federal prosecutors alleged.
“These companies purported to be located and doing business in Pennsylvania and created the appearance of employment status for hundreds of individuals, largely Lakewood residents, who were seeking health care coverage through (Blue Cross Blue Shield) benefit plans,” according to the news release.
Knopf used false personal information — including addresses, dates of birth, marital status and employment functions — to give Blue Cross Blue Shield a false impression that his clients were paid employees, according to prosecutors.
The scheme caused the health care insurers to pay out $1.5 million in fraudulent claims, authorities said. It continued until March 2013 when the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance ordered Knopf to surrender his Pennsylvania insurance producer’s license and cease operation in the state, authorities said.
April 19, 2021: Rev. Al Sharpton and Philonise Floyd (second from left), brother of George Floyd, arrive along with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) (second from right) at Hennepin County Government Center as closing arguments begin in the trial of former Officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis.
April 19, 2021: A boy wearing a face mask looks through the window of a train at a railway station in Gauhati. India now has reported more than 15 million coronavirus infections, a total second only to the United States.
April 19, 2021: Ankara’s Metropolitan Municipality has used graffiti to symbolize the work and dedication by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.
April 19, 2021: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter hovers over the Martian surface on April 19, 2021, during the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet. It used its navigation camera, which autonomously tracks the ground during flight. NASA successfully flew the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars on April 19, 2021, according to data and images sent back to Earth. “Altimeter data confirms that Ingenuity has performed its first flight — the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet,” announced an engineer in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as the control room cheered.
April 18, 2020 : A sculpture representing a man wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in a field in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland.
April 18, 2020 : Ramon Klenz of SG Neukoelln prepares for the Mens 200m Butterfly final race during day 3 of the German Olympic Qualifications, which doubles as a qualifier event for the coronavirus delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, at the Europa Sportpark (SSE) in Berlin, Germany.
April 18, 2020 : Hindu devotees crowd on the banks of river Ganges as they perform rituals to mark ‘Chaiti Chhath Puja’ festival during the sunset in Patna, India.
April 18, 2020 : Saint-Etienne’s French midfielder Aimen Moueffek, right, fights for the ball with Paris Saint-Germain’s Portuguese midfielder Danilo Pereira during the French L1 football match between Paris-Saint Germain and Saint-Etienne at the Parc des Princes Stadium, in Paris.
April 18, 2020 : The Bloching family walks with their llamas, alpacas and dog Mogli on a country lane in Waldhausen, Germany.
April 18, 2020 : A general view of the Center Court Rainier III during the Mens Doubles Final match between Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski of Great Britain against Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia on day eight of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. Sporting stadiums around Monaco remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors.
April 17, 2021: People perform rituals while visiting Shwedagon Pagoda following the Thingyan Festival, marking the Burmese New Year in Yangon.
April 17, 2021: A woman is sprayed with disinfectant in a special cabin during a mass testing event at a sport complex in Bangkok after the recent outbreak of Covid-19 coronavirus cases in Thailand.
The Valiant Air Command’s TBM Avenger made an emergency landing in the ocean just offshore south of the former Officer’s Club at Patrick Space Force Base during the Cocoa Beach Air Show in Florida. The pilot was not inured.
April 17, 2021: Members of the Royal family follow the coffin during the ceremonial funeral procession of Britain’s Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor.
April 17, 2021: Pupils and staff from Gordonstoun School cast a wreath into the Moray Firth from the Ocean Spirit in a tribute to former pupil Prince Phillip The Duke of Edinburgh.
April 17, 2021: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga visits the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
April 16, 2021: Community members protest the the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a Chicago officer in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Toledo was killed in the early-morning hours of March 29, 2021 when police responded to the Little Village neighborhood after the department’s ShotSpotter technology detected eight gunshots.
April 16, 2021: People hug after learning that their loved one is safe after a person shot and killed 8 people inside a FedEx building in Indianapolis.
April 16, 2021: A young Muslim wears a face mask amid a spike in Covid-19 coronavirus cases as he reads the Quran at a mosque during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Songkhla, Thailand.
April 15, 2021: Military police officer Everaldo Pinto, dressed as superhero Captain America, greets children amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Petropolis, Brazil. Pinto advises children on the need to protect themselves against COVID-19, distributing kits equipped with cleaning products and protective face masks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
April 15, 2021: In this aerial photo boats are seen parked on the banks of the Buriganga River during a lockdown imposed to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
April 15, 2021: This arerial view shows Iraqis setting tables ahead of a collective iftar, the evening meal that will end the daily fast at sunset, on the second day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in the war-ravaged old part of the northern city of Mosul.
April 15, 2021: Gravediggers bury a COVID-19 victim at the municipal cemetery in Abaetetuba, Brazil.
April 15, 2021: A reveller reacts as his face is covered with vermillion powder during the Bisket Jatra Festival Thimi, Nepal on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
April 15, 2021: Rope access technicians works on a damaged vault of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral ahead of a visit of French President two years after the blaze that made the spire collapsed and destroyed much of the roof, in Paris. The actual restoration work has yet to begin as time up until now has been spent on securing the building, and the full restoration works should begin early next year.
April 15, 2021: Spectators sit among the figures with pictures of the fans and animals ahead of the ISU World Team Trophy figure skating event in Osaka, Japan.
April 15, 2021: A dog is seen near the deserted Chowpatty beach during restrictions imposed by the state government amidst rising Covid-19 coronavirus cases, in Mumbai, India.
April 14, 2021: Essa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the San Francisco Symphony and principal conductor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, leads the New York Philharmonic, whose members performed together before a crowd for the first time since March 10, 2020, at The Shed in Hudson Yards in New York City.
April 14, 2021: Police shine lights on demonstrator with raised hands during a protest over Sunday’s fatal shooting of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Brooklyn Center, Minn.
April 14, 2021: Capitol Police officers prepare to transport the casket of fellow Officer William “Billy” Evans after a police procession escorted his casket to Pacioreck Funeral Home in Adams, Mass. on the eve of his funeral, which will take place on Thursday. Evans laid in honor in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday after being killed earlier this month when a driver struck him and another officer and rammed into a barricade just outside the Senate.
April 14, 2021: Palestinian men, known as “Musaharatis” play the traditional role of “Ramadan drummers” awakening Muslims for the pre-dawn traditional “Suhur” meal before the start of the following day’s fast during the holy month of Ramadan, carry out their tour while wearing face masks due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the old city of the West Bank city of Hebron.
April 14, 2021: A man poses with a display with the Olympic Rings after a ceremony on Mt. Takao in Hachioji, west of Tokyo to mark 100 days before the start of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
April 14, 2021: Lava flows down from the crater of Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano, as seen from Kaliurang in Yogyakarta.
April 13, 2021:In this long exposure image, fiber-optic lights glow at the Field of Light immersive art installation from artist Bruce Munro, part of the Light at Sensorio on in Paso Robles, California. The Light Towers feature 69 towers composed of more than 17,000 wine bottles adjacent to a 15 acre Field of Light at Sensorio which has a solar powered array of over 58,800 stemmed spheres lit by fiber-optics.
April 13, 2021: A woman wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus takes pictures of tulips at a park in Goyang, South Korea.
April 13, 2021: Muslims pray during the first dawn prayers of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, as they keep social distancing to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk.
April 13, 2021: Female soldiers stand by as an elderly woman sits by the grave of a loved one at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel during Yom HaZikaron, the country’s memorial day for fallen soldiers and victims of attacks.
April 13, 2021: Health worker carry patients to shift them from a dedicated COVID-19 hospital to another hospital to vacate the bed for new patients, at Civil hospital in Ahmedabad, India. New infections have surged in the past month and India has now reported over 13.6 million cases, pushing its toll past Brazil, and making it second only to the United States. In the past 24 hours, over 160,000 new infections have been detected and experts fear that the worst is yet to come.
April 12, 2021: Vehicles, motorcycles, and tuk-tuks (motorised rickshaws) drive past a stall selling Ramadan lanterns along a main street in the in the northern suburb of Shubra (home to a large Christian population) of Egypt’s capital Cairo at the start of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.
39/39 SLIDES
Knopf was initially accused of a much larger scheme when he was charged in 2018, which prosecutors at the time said involved 11 sham companies and $10 million in fraudulent claims. But he admitted on Monday to a $1.5 million fraud.
Knopf is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 19.
His defense attorney, Michael Gilbert, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O’Malley and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew, a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime/Gangs Unit, are representing the government in the case.
A newly released examine suggests that impartial coverage organizations are surviving, if not entirely thriving, …
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Ardent Services Group A thriving business world
![a blurry photo of a bed: Judge gavel, law books and courthouse background. Concept of law, legal.](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lakewood-insurance-producer-admits-2415-million-health-care-fraud/"default":"load":"default","w":"72","h":"48","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17jsZM.img?h=483&w=723&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f","size3column":"load":"default","w":"62","h":"42","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17jsZM.img?h=417&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f","size2column":"load":"default","w":"62","h":"42","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17jsZM.img?h=417&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f")
