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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
today that eight people have been charged
with cheating the State of New Jersey’s
unemployment fund out of a total of $100,487.
Criminal
Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni noted
that the charges resulted from cooperative
investigations by the Department of Labor
and Workforce Development and the Division
of Criminal Justice Major Crimes Bureau.
The
Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes
Bureau obtained the following separate state
grand jury indictments on Oct. 19:
State
v. Marvin Fletcher. Fletcher, 50,
of Trenton, was charged with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification to authorities. The indictment
alleges that between February 2003 and June
2005, Fletcher was earning wages while he
was collecting unemployment insurance benefits.
The indictment alleges that Fletcher failed
to report the earnings to the Department of
Labor and Workforce Development and, as a
result, allegedly received $26,231 in unemployment
insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.
State
v. Jackie A. Seton. Seton, 43, of
Trenton, was charged with third-degree theft
by deception and unsworn falsification to
authorities. The indictment alleges that between
June and December 2004, Seton was earning
wages while he was collecting unemployment
insurance benefits. Seton allegedly failed
to notify the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development of the earnings and, as a result,
allegedly received $6,966 in unemployment
insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.
State
v. Bobby J. Threats, Jr. Threats,
31, of Trenton, was charged with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification to authorities. The indictment
alleges that, between September 2004 and December
2007, Threats collected unemployment insurance
benefits while he was also earning wages.
According to the indictment, by failing to
report the earnings to the Department of Labor
and Workforce Development, Threats allegedly
received $6,614 in unemployment insurance
benefits to which he was not entitled.
The
Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes
Bureau recently obtained the following state
grand jury indictments:
State
v. Faheem R. Murphy. Murphy, 31,
of Willingboro, was charged on Oct. 16 with
third-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree
unsworn falsification to authorities. Between
December 2003 and June 2005, while collecting
unemployment insurance benefits, Murphy was
allegedly also earning wages. According to
the indictment, by not reporting the earnings
to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
Murphy allegedly received $5,794 in unemployment
insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.
State
v. Russell Halbach. Halbach, 32,
of Belford, was charged on Oct. 14 with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification to authorities. The indictment
alleges that between November 2003 and May
2005, Halbach was earning wages while collecting
unemployment insurance benefits. According
to the indictment, by not reporting the earnings
to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
Halbach allegedly received $19,970 in unemployment
insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.
State
v. Ronald Mazotas. Mazotas, 37, of
Bordentown, was charged in a separate Oct.
14 indictment with third-degree theft by deception
and fourth-degree unsworn falsification to
authorities. According to the indictment,
between December 2004 and May 2005, while
he was collecting unemployment insurance benefits,
Mazotas was allegedly earning wages. It is
charged that, by failing to notify the Department
of Labor and Workforce Development of the
earnings, Mazotas allegedly collected $8,382
in unemployment insurance benefits to which
he was not entitled.
State
v. Kiyesha Harden. Harden, 24, of
Vineland, was charged on Oct. 9 with third-degree
theft by deception. According to the indictment,
between August 2004 and January 2005, Harden
was earning wages while collecting unemployment
insurance benefits. The indictment alleges
that, by not reporting the earnings to the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
Harden allegedly received $3,942 in unemployment
insurance benefits to which she was not entitled.
State
v. Adolphine E. Jules. Jules, 33,
of Roselle, was charged on Oct. 1 with third-degree
theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn
falsification to authorities. The indictment
alleges that between December 2001 and July
2005, Jules earned wages while she was collecting
unemployment insurance benefits. The indictment
alleges that, by not reporting the earnings
to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
Jules allegedly collected $22,588 in unemployment
insurance benefits to which she was not entitled.
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 James Ruberton (Fletcher, Seton and
Threats), Jacqueline Cistaro (Halbach and
Mazotas), Valerie Noto (Murphy), Mark Kurzawa
(Harden) and Lee Schaer (Jules). Attorney
General Milgram thanked the Bureau of Benefit
Payment Control from the New Jersey Department
of Labor and Workforce Development for its
assistance in the investigations.
The
Department of 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.
The
indictments are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Third-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of five years in state prison and
a fine of up to $15,000, while fourth-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 18 months
in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
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