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TRENTON
– Five people have been charged in
separate indictments with stealing a total
$60,646 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,”
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
said. “Our goal is to identify those
who cheat the system 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 Paw, the Division of Criminal Justice
- Major Crimes Bureau obtained the following
state grand jury indictments:
State
v. Lonzo W. Young. Young, 49, of
Newark, was charged with third-degree theft
by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification
to authorities for allegedly stealing $22,930
in UI benefits. The indictment charges that
Young was employed by Roman Asphalt Corp.
in Newark at the same time he was collecting
on three separate UI benefits claims in
2002, 2003 and 2004. Young allegedly failed
to notify the labor department of his earnings.
State
v. Howard R. Begley, Jr. Begley,
35, formerly of New Jersey and currently
of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., was charged with
third-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree
unsworn falsification to authorities. According
to the indictment, Begley filed for New
Jersey UI benefits
in 2002, but subsequently began working
for Kinko’s FedEx, located in Sunrise,
Fla. Begley allegedly continued collecting
on the 2002 claim until 2003, yet never
disclosed to the labor department that he
was employed by Kinko’s. As a result,
Begley allegedly received $12,350 in UI
benefits to which he was not entitled.
State
v. Carlos Berrios. Berrios, 42,
of Rahway, was charged with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification. The indictment charges that
after filing for UI benefits in March 2003,
Berrios allegedly earned wages from Consolidated
Steel and Aluminum Co., Inc., in Kenilworth.
By not reporting his earnings to the labor
department, Berrios allegedly stole $12,050
in UI benefits.
State
v. Bryant C. McLaurin. McLaurin,
34, of Paterson, was charged with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification for allegedly collecting $10,754
in UI benefits to which he was not entitled.
McLaurin filed for UI benefits in September
2002 and collected on the claim until June
2003. The indictment charges that McLaurin
was employed during this time by Legal Seafood,
Inc., located in Paramus, but allegedly
failed to notify the labor department of
the earnings.
State
v. Odweda J. Chambers. Chambers,
34, of Trenton, was charged with two counts
of third-degree theft by deception and one
count of fourth-degree unsworn falsification
to authorities. Chambers filed for and collected
on UI benefits in June 2003 and again in
June 2004. The indictment charges that,
subsequent to filing for each claim, Chambers
was employed by the New Jersey Department
of Treasury. By not reporting her employment
to the labor department, Chambers allegedly
collected $2,562 in UI benefits to which
she was not entitled.
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 Lee D.
Schwartz (Young); Viktoria Kristiansson
(Begley, Jr. and Chambers); Mark Kurzawa
(Berrios); and Janet R. Bosi (McLaurin).
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