TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced today that five people have been
charged in separate indictments with stealing
a total of $72,484 from New Jersey’s
unemployment insurance trust fund.
The
indictments resulted from cooperative investigations
by the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development and the Division of Criminal
Justice - Major Crimes Bureau.
“These
indictments charge the defendants with illegally
collecting thousands of dollars in benefits
to which they were not entitled,”
Attorney General Milgram said. “Our
goal is to identify those who cheat the
system, prosecute them and recover the money
taken from the state’s unemployment
insurance trust fund.”
“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 Commissioner
of Labor and Workforce Development David
J. Socolow. “These cases were first
identified by Labor Department 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 concerned
citizens.”
According
to Director Paw, the Division of Criminal
Justice - Major Crimes Bureau yesterday
obtained the following state grand jury
indictment:
State
v. Angelina Figueroa. Figueroa,
28, of South River, was charged with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification for allegedly stealing $13,825
in UI benefits. The indictment charges that
after filing for UI benefits in September
2002, Figueroa allegedly earned wages from
Monitor Products that she failed to report
to the labor department.
In
addition, the Major Crimes Bureau recently
obtained these state grand jury indictments:
State
v. Zakia S. Marks. Marks, 27, of
Trenton, was charged in an April 23 state
grand jury indictment with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification for allegedly stealing $18,710
in UI benefits. Marks filed four separate
UI benefits claims between 2001 and 2004.
According to the indictment, Marks was allegedly
employed by the New Jersey Department of
Treasury during the time she was collecting
on the claims, yet did not inform the labor
department of the employment.
State
v. Angela D. Felton. Felton, 42,
of Trenton, was charged with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification. The April 23 indictment charges
that after filing for UI benefits each July
between 2002 and 2006, Felton allegedly
earned wages from the Department of Treasury.
According to the indictment, by failing
to notify the labor department of the earnings,
Felton fraudulently collected $13,879 in
UI benefits to which she was not entitled.
State
v. Hasson F. Gardner. Gardner,
27, of Orange, was charged in an April 9
state grand jury indictment with three counts
of third-degree theft by deception and one
count of fourth-degree unsworn falsification.
Gardner filed for UI benefits in October
2002, May 2004 and June 2005. The indictment
charges that Gardner failed to report to
the labor department that he was earning
wages from Gourmet Dining LLC while collecting
on all of these claims. As a result, Gardner
allegedly stole $14,430 in UI benefits.
State
v. Gregory A. Gervato. Gervato,
42, of Vineland, was charged with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification for allegedly stealing $11,640
in UI benefits. The indictment alleges that
after filing for UI benefits in November
2002, Gervato was employed as a local driver
by Jevic Transportation Inc. in Delanco
and failed to report his employment to the
labor department.
The
indictments are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Third-degree crimes carry a sentence
of up to five years in state prison and
a fine of up to $15,000, while fourth-degree
crimes carry a sentence of up to 18 months
in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
State
Investigators Gary O’Brien and Lynn
Fitzgerald coordinated the investigations.
The cases were presented to the state grand
jury by Deputy Attorneys General James Ruberton
(Figueroa); Viktoria Kristiansson (Marks
and Felton); Betty Rodriguez (Gardner);
and Christine Hoffman (Gervato).
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