By: Richard L. Smith
According to a statement released by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, a 63-year-old East Orange man has been indicted for allegedly filing tens of thousands of fraudulent Medicaid claims and collecting more than $3.4 million through a company once operated by his late sister.
Vicente Lopez was indicted by a state grand jury on September 3, 2025, on charges of second-degree health care claims fraud, theft by deception, third-degree Medicaid fraud, and multiple counts of failing to pay taxes and filing fraudulent returns.
Investigators allege Lopez, who took over Joyce Lopez & Associates (JLA) after his sister’s death in 2021, submitted or directed employees to submit more than 34,000 false claims for psychological services.
Authorities said Lopez was neither qualified nor authorized to provide the services billed and instead used the name and provider number of a licensed psychiatrist without that person’s knowledge.
Lopez is also accused of billing Medicaid when patients canceled, failed to appear, or only received case management services rather than psychotherapy.
Beyond the Medicaid allegations, prosecutors said Lopez failed to pay state taxes for three years, underreporting income when he eventually filed.
He currently owes nearly $100,000 in taxes, penalties, and interest.
“Medicaid is a vital lifeline… so it is especially troubling whenever someone chooses to steal from this important public program,” Attorney General Platkin said. DCJ Director Theresa L. Hilton added that the indictment charges Lopez with “brazenly submitting 34,000 claims for services never provided.” Interim Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Al Garcia noted that fraud against public programs “victimizes all of us” by diverting money away from those in need.
Lopez was charged following a joint investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice, the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the New Jersey Division of Taxation.
If convicted, Lopez faces up to 10 years in state prison on the second-degree charges, along with significant fines.