TRENTON
– Division of Criminal Justice Director
Vaughn L. McKoy announced that the Major
Financial Crimes Bureau has charged three
New Jersey men with illegally collecting
more than $23,600 in Unemployment Insurance
(UI) benefits. The prosecutions resulted
from a cooperative investigative effort
by the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development (DLWD)and the Division of
Criminal Justice.
According
to Director McKoy, the Division of Criminal
Justice - Major Financial Crimes Bureau
obtained separate State Grand Jury indictments
charging three individuals with theft
by deception and unsworn falsification
to authorities for bilking the New Jersey
UI benefits program out of more than $23,600.
"The
Division of Criminal Justice and the Department
of Labor and Workforce Development have
established investigative protocols which
target deliberate and blatant attempts
by individuals to steal thousands of dollars
from the state unemployment fund,"
said Criminal Justice Director McKoy.
“Make no mistake, we intend to investigate,
prosecute, recoup and return dollars stolen
from our unemployment compensation programs."
"The
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
uses a variety of methods to track down
those who abuse the system and fraudulently
obtain benefits," said Unemployment
Insurance Director David Socolow. "These
cases were first identified by DLWD investigators
by cross-matching employer-submitted wage
information against UI benefit payments;
pursuing leads from employer protests
of UI benefit charges; surveying employer
payroll records; and responding to alerts
from the staff of our local claims offices."
A
Jan. 11 State Grand Jury indictment charged
Milton L. Smith, 47, 1302 Emerson Street,
NW, Washington, DC, with theft by deception
and unsworn falsification for bilking
the UI benefits program out of $11,596.
Smith filed for UI benefits in July, 2001
and collected on this claim until January,
2002. It is alleged that the defendant
received approximately $10,000 per month
for his work as a pipe inspector for the
firm Analytical Quality & Monitoring,
located in West Orange, Essex County,
while collecting the UI benefits. -more-
A
separate Jan. 11 State Grand Jury indictment
charged Freddie A. Tyler, 36, Van Nostrand
Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, with
theft by deception and two counts of unsworn
falsification for allegedly fraudulently
collecting more than $9,380 in UI benefits.
Tyler filed for and collected on three
separate UI benefits claims - the first
was from August until December, 1999,
the second, August, 2000 until February
2001; and the third from August until
November, 2001. The investigation determined
that for much of the time, Tyler was employed
by Laidlaw Transit Inc., located in Lawrenceville,
Mercer County, and was earning regular
weekly paychecks. According to the indictment,
Tyler failed to report the earnings to
the DLWD.
A
third Jan. 11 State Grand Jury indictment
charged Antoine Andre, 35, Salem Street,
Newark, Essex County, with theft by deception
and unsworn falsification. It is charged
that Andre filed for UI benefits in October,
1999 and collected on the claim until
April, 2000. According to the indictment,
Andre began working as a porter at Columbus
Hospital in Newark in January, 2000. By
not reporting the employment to the DLWD,
Andre allegedly collected than $2,654
in UI benefits.
Deputy
Attorney General Ed Werner presented the
Smith case, which was referred to Mercer
County. DAG Mark Kurzawa presented the
Andre and Tyler cases. Andre’s case
will be venued in Essex County, and Tyler’s
case was assigned to Hudson County.
Theft
by deception is a third degree crime which
carries a maximum penalty of up to five
years in state prison and a fine of up
to $15,000, while unsworn falsification
to authorities is a fourth degree crime
which calls for up to 18 months in state
prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
An
indictment is merely an accusation. The
defendants are presumed innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law.