A Lakewood husband and wife, and a Barnegat couple, move closer to trial for allegedly collecting New Jersey Family Care benefits under false pretenses and hiding it on their tax forms.

(L-R) Yosaf Laskin, Gila Neger
(L-R) Yosaf Laskin, Gila Neger (Ocean County Prosecutors Office)
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New Jersey Family Care is taxpayer-funded health insurance plan under Medicaid that covers costs of doctor visits, prescriptions, hospitalization, mental health and substance abuse services, vision, and dental care for qualifying families.

Yosaf Laskin, 43, of Lakewood, allegedly collected about $148,000 in benefits between November 2010 and July 2013 by falsifying the application. He risks a 10-year sentence if convicted of a second-degree theft by deception count. He is also charged with third-degree Medicaid fraud and tampering with government records.

His wife, Gila Neger, 41, is accused of filing false information for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), and receiving about $8,000 in benefits. She is charged with theft by deception and tampering with government records.

Peter Cerruto, 38, and Lisa Cerruto, 33, of Barnegat, are accused of receiving about  $69,000 in benefits between February 2010 and July 2013 and doctoring their income tax return forms, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato's office.

They're charged with third-degree counts of theft by deception, Medicaid fraud, tampering with government records, filing fraudulent tax returns and failure to pay tax. Convictions would mean as many as five years in prison.

No information on trial dates has been disclosed in either case.

Both cases were referred to the Prosecutor's Office after investigations by the state Comptroller's Office, Medicaid Fraud Division and the state Division of Taxation.

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