Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that the former chief of the Delran Emergency Squad was sentenced today to 30 days in the Burlington County Jail for falsifying patient care reports and then submitting the fabricated records to insurance providers as part of a scheme to collect money for services that were not billable.
Don Horner, 67, formerly of Cinnaminson, pled guilty in May to Insurance Fraud (Third Degree) and Tampering with Public Records (Third Degree). The State was seeking 364 days of incarceration.
When arrested in October 2018, Horner was enrolled in the state Superior Court’s Pre-Trial Intervention program for charges of tax evasion and filing fraudulent income tax returns.
Horner, who is the former chief of the Riverside Township Police Department, also received three years of probation.
“Notwithstanding the defendant’s long period of commendable public service, his commission of these offenses while in PTI for other offenses demonstrates nothing but sheer arrogance,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “This sentence reflects appropriate accountability for the defendant’s doubling down on his criminal activity.
The investigation revealed that Horner was operating under an expired EMT certificate. He was found to have altered reports on 27 different occasions when he served as a crew member. This was done to conceal the fact that an uncertified EMT (Horner) participated in those transports, which would have disallowed the squad from billing for those services.
The investigation further revealed that 11 of the altered reports were submitted to insurance companies, which paid out a total of $4,307.
Horner must make restitution and forfeit his Emergency Medical Technician certification for life. Horner must also perform 200 hours of community service and pay a $1,300 fine.
Horner was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Josh Dennis, supervisor of the BCPO Insurance Fraud Unit. The investigation was conducted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Insurance Fraud Unit. The lead investigator was BCPO Detective Steve Laramie.
The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office takes a very aggressive stance on insurance fraud-related offenses, having indicted six cases in the month of June alone.