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Attorney
General Anne Milgram announced that a Burlington
County man has been indicted today on charges
that he knowingly wrote more than $226,000
in bad checks using funds from a closed-out
bank account.
Philip
A. Ruggiero, Jr., 48, of Marlton, was charged
with second-degree bad checks.
The
state grand jury indictment alleges that
between Dec. 26, 2006 and Sept. 2, 2008,
Ruggiero, the corporate officer for Holmes
Mill Farms, LLC, located in Cream Ridge,
allegedly wrote 39 bad checks totaling $226,994.
The indictment alleges that, after Ruggiero
was told by Mariner’s Bank in Edgewater,
Bergen County, that the Holmes Mill Farms’
account was being closed, he continued to
write checks from the account. It is charged
that he sent the checks to various companies
and individuals, including 11checks, totaling
$73,000, which he wrote to his wife. Mariner’s
Bank allegedly paid out more than $150,000
for the checks before uncovering the fraud
and referring the matter to the Division
of Criminal Justice for investigation.
Detective
Martin Farrell and Deputy Attorney General
Francine Ehrenberg coordinated the investigation.
Ehrenberg presented the case to the state
grand jury.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Second-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of 10 years in state prison and
a fine of $150,000.
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