Participants will be required to repay Medicaid for the benefits they received while ineligible

They must also pay an additional civil penalty based on the amount of improperly received benefits.

Participants also must voluntarily withdraw from Medicaid for a one-year period.

Officials are braced for a large turnout at tonight's formal unveiling of a Medicaid fraud amnesty program -- spurred by the arrests of 26 Lakewood residents earlier in the summer on allegations they took nearly $2 million in public assistance they weren't entitled to.

State Comptroller Phillip James Degnan said it's "impossible to predict'' how many people will try to come clean.

But Degnan said there's been high interest "from those who wish to come forward, but have concern about legal ramifications.''

"We're prepared for anything,'' Degnan said of the expected enrollment.

Watch the video at the top of the page to hear what a Lakewood resident has to say about the welfare fraud investigations in the township.

Degnan's office is hosting a public meeting starting at 6:30 p.m. at Pine Belt Arena, on the grounds of Toms River North High School, at which Ocean County residents can learn more about the voluntary program that allows Medicaid cheats to avoid prosecution if they come forward.

Here's some things to know about the amnesty offer:

1. The Lakewood Vaad is urging compliance

Lakewood's influential council of local Orthodox Jewish religious and business leaders has urged residents who cheated Medicaid to come clean.

"The Vaad supports any and all programs that can help improve compliance rates among the general public," said the group's spokesman, Rabbi Moshe Weisberg, in a statement.

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2. How do officials know the amnesty offer will be popular?

The June raids by state and federal authorities in Lakewood prompted hundreds of people to call town leaders to ask how to get off public assistance or if they were on the wrong side of the law. Also, about 1,000 people seeking guidance attended a panel session on public assistance sponsored by the Vaad at the Fountain Ballroom at Lakewood Cheder in July. "The Vaad has helped organize a series of Community Conversations intended to improve compliance and is committed to continue to do so," Weisberg said.

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3. Medicaid cheats outside Ocean County may get their chance, too

Degnan said the amnesty offer, for now only good for Ocean County residents, is a "pilot program," If it's a success, it could be offered elsewhere, he said.

4. What penalties will be assessed?

Participants will be required to repay Medicaid for the benefits they received while ineligible, and pay an additional civil penalty based on the amount of improperly received benefits. Participants also must voluntarily withdraw from Medicaid for a one-year period. Degnan's office said the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office has affirmed it will not take action against amnesty program participants who comply with settlement terms.

5. How can people step forward?

The program, which begins today, Sept. 12, and runs three months, is not open to those who previously entered into a settlement with the state, or who are subjects of a pending state or county criminal matter.

The 6:30 p.m. meeting is at Pine Belt Arena, 1245 Old Freehold Road, Toms River. The program application form and instructions, along with a sample settlement agreement, will be posted on the office's website, www.state.nj.us/comptroller. Applications must be sent in no later than Dec. 12.

Officials said suspected Medicaid waste, fraud or abuse can be reported by calling 888-937-2835 or by submitting a complaint form at www.state.nj.us/comptroller/divisions/medicaid/complaint.html.

Bob Jordan bjordan@gannettnj.com