by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com
Published 1pm

CALDWELL, NJ  - The New Jersey Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor announced yesterday charges against Karissa-Anne Frannicola, 29, of Caldwell. Frannicola is accused of stealing about $20,530 from an elderly nursing home resident over whom she had power of attorney.

​In an effort to protect elderly and disabled individuals from abuse and neglect, the office also charged three other women with residential care crimes.

The charges were determined after investigations were completed by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit which receives federal monies to investigate and prosecute Medicaid provider fraud and the abuse of Medicaid patients.

​Frannicola was charged with the following over incidents which occurred between April and August of 2017:

• third degree charge of theft by failure to make disposition of property received
• third degree charge of misapplication of entrusted property

The other women involved in the indictment were Martha Ruiz, 25, of Camden, and Kendall Crouch, 24, of Clementon. Both women were employed as psych aides at Bancroft Neurohealth in Mt. Laurel. Bancroft Neurohealth is a facility which cares for  developmentally disabled adults and children. In their case, both Ruiz and Crouch are accused of physically abusing one of the disabled residents.

According to the Prosecutor, on June 1, 2018, Ruiz and Crouch allegedly "struck the resident in the face, twisted his hand and wrist, forcefully restrained him to his bed, and forced a urine-soaked towel on his face." 

Both women were charged with: 

• third degree conspiracy
• third degree neglect of a disabled person
• fourth degree endangering another person. 

 
Additionally, Christine Sanford, 31, of Atlantic City, is accused of assuming a false identity to work as a Certified Nurse Aide at the Barnegat Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Barnegat in November 2018. The Prosecutor believes Sanford used a false identity because her own Nurse Aide certification had been revoked by the New Jersey Department of Health in 2017 after she was determined to be unqualified.
 
Sanford is charged with:

• third degree forgery
• third degree identify theft
• third degree uttering of false government documents
  
  

Third-degree crimes in New Jersey carry a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $15,000; fourth-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to eighteen months in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $5,000. 

​People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline at 1-877-55-FRAUD, or visiting the website at www.njinsurancefraud.org. State regulations also permit a reward to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.

ROSELAND, NJ - In the early morning hours of Tuesday, Mar. 26, Roseland Police Officer Michael Gibbons alerted headquarters to two individuals he reportedly saw breaking into cars in the area of Third Avenue, Roseland. Within minutes, he escaped injury, made an arrest, and assisted with a stolen car recovered in Parsippany. 

At about 2:20am, Gibbons called in two individuals he reportedly witnessed on foot breaking into cars on Third Avenue. He was able to make one arrest, while a second individual ran on foot, and another remained in a second car. 

The suspect on foot is described as:

• Black male
• wearing all black including a black skullcap
• last seen running in the area of 502 Eagle Rock Avenue, at the end of Third Avenue

The individual driving the second car, described as a white male, reportedly attempted to use his car to attack Gibbons. The officer jumped back into his patrol car, and was not injured. The police car is believed to have sustained driver-side door damage. 

The car was determined by police to be a 2012 Toyota Sienna wagon,  stolen out of Lakewood. The driver then sped off, followed by Gibbons who was able to follow the car as it drove onto Eisenhower Parkway, and then Route 280 West.

After reportedly driving at speeds over 100 miles-per-hour, the car exited the road at some point after Exit 1 in Parsippany, in the back-lot of an office building. At that point it's believed that the driver bailed from the car and was seen running behind the building. Gibbons secured the car, and police were able to report its recovery to Lakewood authorities. 

Multiple ​Parsippany Police units responded at about 2:33am to the car's location, along with a K9 unit. East Hanover also responded to the Parsippany location. 

​Roseland Police requested mutual aid from all surrounding towns and the State Police were also notified. By about 2:30am, Roseland Police began scouting in the areas of Harrison, Eisenhower, and Eagle Rock. As of 2:45am, the Essex County Sheriff Officers, including K9, were dispatched to Third Avenue to locate the second individual. 

By 3am, officers responded from Caldwell, East Hanover, Livingston, and West Caldwell and surrounded the perimeter from QuickChek to Noecker School, while the K9 unit was picking up a scent at 3:15am in the Third Avenue location. 

At 3:40am, all police units were released from the Third Avenue area with the investigation continuing. 

GLEN RIDGE, NJ - Glen Ridge Police Chief Sheila E. Byron-Lagattuta announced the arrests this week of two individuals whom the Essex County Prosecutor's Office believe to be part of a larger crime ring across northern New Jersey. ​

According to the Chief, during a car search the officers found items commonly used for mailbox fishing along with "a large pile of mail stuffed under the passenger side door of the vehicle."

Officers investigated and discovered 24 pieces of mail which contained checks totaling over $116,000, the majority of which were being mailed to the IRS.

Two suspects were arrested and reportedly they later confessed to removing the mail from the mailbox.

The two were subsequently charged with:

• Second Degree Theft
• Second Degree Trafficking in Personal Identification Information
• Fourth Degree Possession/Manufacture of Burglar’s Tools
  
  

The two individuals were transported to the Essex County Correctional Facility and their identities are not being released as the investigation is on-going. 

Since Apr. 1, Glen Ridge Police have arrested a total of five suspects believed to be connected to the thefts. 
 
Anyone with information is asked to contact:

• Captain Sean Quinn
  973-748-5400, ext. 113
  spquinn@glenridgenj.org