Peter Byron, the former mayor of Wildwood, New Jersey, recently pleaded guilty to multiple charges connected to a healthcare scam that has burdened state residents with a hefty bill. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin reported that the fraudulent scheme resulted in taxpayers facing costs exceeding $609,000.
Byron, aged 68, admitted to his involvement in the State Health Benefits Program, allowing him and others to obtain healthcare benefits they were not entitled to. His actions resulted in significant financial losses for the state.
In addition to fraudulently accessing healthcare benefits, Byron also pleaded guilty to failing to disclose his outside employment and neglecting to report the income from that job on his state tax returns. Platkin emphasized the seriousness of the offense, stating, “Illegally obtaining benefits is not what holding public office should be about… This was a self-serving, nearly decade-long betrayal of the public’s trust.”
Having resigned from his position in September 2023, Byron made his guilty plea during a court hearing on September 27, 2024, before Judge Bernard DeLury Jr. in Cape May County. He faced charges of theft by unlawful taking related to the healthcare fraud and falsifying records concerning his undisclosed employment.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors are recommending an aggregate sentence of three years in New Jersey state prison for Byron. He is also required to pay restitution and has entered a consent order barring him from holding public office or employment for life.
Court records indicate that a state grand jury indicted Byron along with two other officials—former Wildwood mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. and City Commissioner Steve Mikulski—on various charges, including official misconduct and theft by unlawful taking. All three were found to have improperly enrolled in the State Health Benefits Program despite not being eligible, as they were never full-time employees.
As a result of this fraudulent scheme, Byron alone received nearly $609,000 in health benefits and premiums from July 2011 to October 2021, according to Platkin’s office.
