TRENTON -Attorney General
Peter C. Harvey and Vaughn L. McKoy, Director,
Division of Criminal Justice, announced
that the Division of Criminal Justice
has charged the former CEO of a Mercer
County blood bank with artificially inflating
the purchase price of blood products sold
to area hospitals in order to generate
and keep more than $640,000 in illegal
profits.
Attorney General Harvey
noted that the Division of Criminal Justice
- Major Financial Crimes Bureau is targeting
financial crime through the investigation
and prosecution of business, mortgage,
real estate, investment, and securities
fraud, predatory lending practices, government
contract fraud, and other crimes that
impact New Jersey corporate citizens,
residents and consumers, government agencies,
and the economy.
According to Criminal
Justice Director McKoy, a State Grand
Jury indictment charged Patrick Deschenes,
46, Van Gogh Court, Ewing Township, Mercer
County, with first degree money laundering
and theft by deception (2nd degree). If
convicted of both charges, Deschenes faces
up to 30 years in state prison and a fine
of up to $300,000.
The State Grand Jury
indictment alleges that from March, 1999
through February, 2004, Deschenes, the
former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
The Community Blood Council of New Jersey,
Inc. (CBCNJ) located at 1410 Parkside
Ave., Ewing, colluded with the owner of
Bio-Matter, Inc. to inflate the price
of blood products purchased by CBCNJ and
to split the profits obtained as a result
of the price difference. The investigation
determined that over the course of the
five-year scheme, 59 checks totaling $640,
888 were issued by Bio-Matter to Deschenes.
It is alleged that Deschenes used the
illegal profits for personal expenses.
Bio-Matter is a blood product supplier
located at 222 Roberts Lane, Malvern,
PA. The Community Blood Council of New
Jersey, Inc. is a non-profit blood bank
licensed by the State of New Jersey to
provide blood supplies and products to
area hospitals and medical care providers.
“The indictment
alleges that the defendant inflated the
price of blood products by nearly three-quarters
of a million dollars in order to pocket
significant profits and to finance personal
expenses. The Division of Criminal Justice
and the Major Financial Crimes Bureau
is targeting such unscrupulous businessmen
who endeavor to defraud the marketplace
and who, by their actions, jeopardize
public safety and security,” Director
McKoy said.
Deschenes was arrested
on Wed., Dec. 15 at his Ewing Township
residence and remains in the Mercer County
Jail pending an arraignment and bail hearing
before Mercer County Superior Court Judge
Maria Marinari Sypek. The State Grand
Jury indictment was handed-up to Judge
Sypek on Dec. 9.
The investigation was
coordinated by Deputy Attorney’s
General Rodger Wolf and Francine Ehrenberg
and State Investigator Raymond Gardner
assigned to the Division of Criminal Justice
- Major Financial Crimes Bureau, Money
Laundering Section. DAG Ehrenberg presented
the case to the State Grand Jury.
The Division of Criminal
Justice - Financial Crimes Bureau encourages
anyone who has information about any type
of financial crime, or who believe they
are a victim of a financial crime, to
contact the Division of Criminal Justice
Crime TipLine at 1-866-TIPS-4CJ
(1-866-847-7425).
Additional information,
including a copy of the State Grand Jury
indictment, is available by logging on
to the Division of Criminal Justice web
page at www.njdcj.org.
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