Firefighters who admitted to health benefits fraud have withdrawn pension contributions
ATLANTIC CITY -- Four local firefighters who pleaded guilty in the federal investigation into state health benefits fraud have withdrawn their pension contributions, state records show.
Ventnor’s Corey and Edward Sutor, Margate’s Michael Sher and Atlantic City’s Michael Pepper have all withdrawn the contributions they made to the Police and Firefighters Retirement System, a spokesman from the state Department of Treasury confirmed.
The withdrawals mean the PFRS Board of Trustees, which typically decides whether a member must forfeit any portion of their pension due to a criminal conviction, would not review their cases, the spokesman said.
The former firefighters, who all resigned from their public employment upon pleading guilty in the past two years, face up to 10 years in prison for their roles in the multimillion-dollar prescription kickback scheme that took advantage of generous state-provided health benefits. Although the first charges were brought more than two years ago, and only one of the 25 who pleaded guilty has been sentenced, public interest in the fate of the public employees’ pensions remains high.
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