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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah Gramiccioni
announced today that six people have been
charged in separate indictments with stealing
a total of $106,084 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. Labor and Workforce
Development Commissioner David J. Socolow
said that the 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 Gramiccioni, the Division of
Criminal Justice - Major Crimes Bureau obtained
three state grand jury indictments on Aug.
12:
State
v. Lavera L. Feaster. Feaster,
45, of Newark, was charged with two counts
of third-degree theft by deception and one
count of fourth-degree unsworn falsification.
The indictment charges that, while Feaster
was collecting on an October 2004 UI benefits
claim, she was employed by Turning Point,
Inc. and at UMDNJ in Scotch Plains. Feaster
began collecting on another UI benefits
claim in October 2005 and allegedly began
working again for Turning Point, Inc. By
failing to notify the Department of Labor
and Workforce Development of her earnings,
Feaster allegedly stole $19,410 in UI benefits.
State
v. Robert H. Moskow. Moskow, 56,
of Voorhees, was charged with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification for allegedly stealing $17,100
in UI benefits. The indictment charges that
Moskow filed for UI benefits in December
2002 and subsequently worked for System
Design & Analysis, located in Cream
Ridge as well as Zanger Enterprises d/b/a
Prestige Volkswagen/Mitsubishi, located
in Turnersville. According to the indictment,
Moskow did not notify the Department of
Labor and Workforce Development of the earnings.
State
v. Anthony V. Vega. Vega, 33, of
Secaucus, was charged with two counts of
third-degree theft by deception and one
count of fourth-degree unsworn falsification
for allegedly stealing $13,651 in UI benefits.
The indictment charges that Vega filed for
UI benefits in April 2003, and was subsequently
employed by Stateline Construction, located
in Newark. It is further alleged that, while
collecting on a May 2004 claim, Vega was
employed by N. Salvaterra Construction,
located in Paterson, and Contract Furniture
Transportation, located in Jersey City.
Vega allegedly failed to report the earnings
to the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development.
In
addition, the Division of Criminal Justice
- Major Crimes Bureau recently obtained
the following state grand jury indictments:
State
v. Lonnie J. Evener. Evener, 52,
of Beachwood, was charged on July 31 with
two counts of third-degree theft by deception
and one count of fourth-degree falsification.
The indictment charges that, after filing
for UI benefits in December 2002, Evener
worked for S&S Credit Co., located in
St. Louis, MO, and Anchor Concrete Products
in Manasquan. It is further alleged that,
after filing another UI benefits claim in
December 2003, Evener again worked for S&S
Credit Co. By not reporting his earnings
to the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development, Evener allegedly received $23,059
in UI benefits to which he was not entitled.
State
v. Gregory W. Cornell. Cornell,
51, of Eddystone, Pa., was charged on Aug.
6 with third-degree theft by deception and
fourth degree unsworn falsification to authorities
for allegedly stealing $17,352 in UI benefits.
The indictment charges that, after filing
for UI benefits in March 2003, Cornell failed
to notify the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development when he began working as a die
cutter for Cardinal Health in Pennsauken.
Cardinal Health is the parent company of
Packaging Coordinators, Inc. and Catalent
Pharma Solutions.
State
v. Michael J. Kowalsky. Kowalsky,
47, of Miami Gardens, Fla., was charged
on July 31 with two counts of third-degree
theft by deception and one count of fourth-degree
unsworn falsification. According to the
indictment, Kowalsky filed for UI benefits
in April 2003 and subsequently began working
as a sprinkler fitter for Cerullo Fire Protection,
Inc., located in Rahway. It is further charged
that after filing an additional UI benefits
claim in 2004, Kowalsky earned wages as
a sprinkler fitter for the Allied Fire and
Safety Equipment Co., located in Neptune.
As a result of not reporting his earnings
to the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development, Kowalsky allegedly stole $15,512
in UI benefits.
Detectives
Gary O’Brien and Lynn Fitzgerald of
the Division of Criminal Justice coordinated
the investigations. The cases were presented
to the state grand jury by Deputy Attorneys
General Lee Schwartz (Feaster and Vega),
James Ruberton (Moskow), Adam Heck (Evener
and Kowalsky), and Viktoria Kristiansson
(Cornell).
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.
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