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Barrington Man Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud & Official Misconduct

Salvatore Yacovelli, of Barrington and a Maple Shade BOE employee, pleaded guilty to using his position to fraudulently obtain health insurance benefits for his ex-wife and to repaying a personal pension loan with money from a school district account.

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced on July 21st that Salvatore Yacovelli, a Maple Shade Board of Education (BOE) employee, pleaded guilty to using his position to fraudulently obtain health insurance benefits for his ex-wife and to repaying a personal pension loan with money from a school district account.

Salvatore Yacovelli
(Image Provided)

On July 19, Yacovelli, 46, of Barrington, pleaded guilty before the Hon. Christopher J. Garrenger, J.S.C., to charges of Insurance Fraud (Second Degree) and Official Misconduct (Third Degree).


Yacovelli was employed as a payroll and benefits specialist for the school district.

Under terms of the plea agreement, Yacovelli will be sentenced to a total of four years in New Jersey state prison and make restitution to the school district. His pension has been forfeited and he will be forbidden from public employment upon release from prison.

He has not been detained pending sentencing on November 8.

The investigation revealed that from December 2011 through November 2016, Yacovelli fraudulently represented to the district that he was married to Gina Yacovelli, despite the fact that they were divorced, for the purpose of obtaining medical and dental benefits for her under his insurance policy. Multiple insurance claims were filed and paid during that period, costing the district $47,239.08.

The investigation also revealed that Yacovelli obtained a pension loan in the amount of $4,989.96 and repaid the money from a school district account.

Charges of Insurance Fraud and Theft by Unlawful Taking are pending against Gina Yacovelli, 39, also of Barrington.

The case was prosecuted by Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Dennis, supervisor of the BCPO Insurance Fraud Unit.

It was investigated by the Maple Shade Police Department, with assistance from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. The lead investigator was Maple Shade Police School Resource Officer Misty Weiss.

(Source: Burlington County Prosecutor)