The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)

December 12, 1999 Sunday
FINAL EDITION

Ex-school guard receives 5 years

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 41

LENGTH: 212 words

A former security guard for the Newark Board of Education has been sentenced to state prison for her role in a multimillion-dollar insurance fraud scheme masterminded by a Ridgewood psychiatrist.
Vivian DeCree, 52, of 291 Hopson St. in Newark, received a five-year sentence in Bergen County Superior Court on Friday. Judge William C. Meehan also fined her $3,000 and ordered her to pay $1,900 in restitution.
DeCree was convicted in September of conspiracy, official misconduct and theft by deception. She could have received a 10-year sentence, according to the state Department of Law and Public Safety.
Over the last four years, 151 people – mostly public school employees in Essex and Passaic counties – have pleaded guilty to filing phony claims with state insurance plans and turning over a portion of their benefits to Dr. Carl H. Lichtman. DeCree was the first defendant to go to trial.
Lichtman’s scheme bilked insurance plans out of more than $3.5 million, according to state authorities. Most of the money was paid by the Prudential Insurance Co. of America on behalf of the New Jersey State Health Benefits Plan, according to the Department of Law and Public Safety.
Lichtman was convicted of fraud and served 16 months in state prison. He is currently on parole.