TRENTON
– Division of Criminal Justice Director
Vaughn L. McKoy announced that the Major
Financial Crimes Bureau has charged three
individuals with illegally collecting
more than $21,700 in Unemployment Insurance
(UI) benefits. The prosecutions result
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 people with theft by deception
and unsworn falsification to authorities
for bilking the New Jersey UI benefits
program out of more than $21,700.
"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 who attempt 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 those
who would 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
State Grand Jury indictment charged Roy
Raimer, Jr., 48, Village Place, Winston-Salem,
NC, formerly of Sussex Place, Galloway
Township, Atlantic County, with two counts
of theft by deception and one count of
unsworn falsification. Raimer filed two
separate UI benefits claims, one in August
2000 and the second in August 2001. According
to the indictment, Raimer bilked the UI
benefits program out of more than $8,700
by not reporting to the DLWD that he was
earning wages as a bus driver for Safety
Bus Service, Corp. in Pennsauken, Camden
County, while he was collecting on the
claims. >>
Read
Raimer Indictment pdf
plug-in
A
second indictment charged Evangeline Rosado,
40, Ashley Avenue, Lakewood, Ocean County
with theft by deception and unsworn falsification.
The indictment alleges that Rosado stole
more than $7,600 in UI benefits. An investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice determined
that after Rosado filed a UI benefits
claim in August 2000, she was employed
as a Form and Fill Operator by West Pharmaceutical
Services, Inc., located in Lakewood, yet
failed to notify DLWD of her employment.
>> Read
Rosado Indictment pdf
plug-in
A
third State Grand Jury indictment filed
by the Division of Criminal Justice charged
Andrew Harris, 41, Berkshire Drive, Souderton,
PA, with theft by deception and unsworn
falsification. Harris filed a claim for
UI benefits in April 2000. According to
the indictment, he subsequently began
working as a mortgage processor for Old
Kent Mortgage Co., d/b/a East Coast Funding,
in Horsham, PA. By not notifying DLWD
of his employment, Harris allegedly collected
more than $5,400 in UI benefits to which
he was not entitled. >>
Read
Harris Indictment pdf
plug-in
Deputy
Attorney General Edward Werner presented
the Rosado case and DAG Candy Cure presented
the Harris and Raimer cases to the State
Grand Jury. Rosado’s case has been
referred to Ocean County, Harris’s
case to Mercer and Raimer’s case
will be venued in Atlantic 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.
A
copy of this release and the related indictments
can be found at www.njdcj.org.
The
indictments, which were handed up by the
Division of Criminal Justice on Oct. 6,
are merely accusations. The defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty
in a court of law.
_ag-ph_update.gif)
