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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that the a former Paterson school
district employee was indicted yesterday
for allegedly stealing more than $102,000
by hiring her own company to do work for
the Paterson school district, an Abbott
school district, and then fraudulently overbilling
the district.
According
to Director Taylor, Anna Taliaferro, 73,
formerly of Paterson and currently of Virginia
Beach, Virginia, was indicted yesterday
on charges of official misconduct, pattern
of official misconduct, theft by deception
and misconduct by corporate official (all
second degree), as well as two counts of
third-degree tampering with public records
or information and one count of third-degree
forgery.
Taliaferro
was the District-Wide Coordinator of the
Paterson Resource Center before she retired
in 2008. She was also the president of the
non-profit corporation New Jersey Association
of Parent Coordinators (NJAPC).
The
indictment alleges that between February
2003 and April 2007, Taliaferro falsified
records, making false statements on one
or more annual school ethics commission
financial disclosure statements and/or school
ethics commission personal/relative disclosure
statements. It is alleged that Taliaferro
falsely claimed that she held no interest
in any business organization, and was not
a principal of any organization that contracted
with the Paterson Board of Education, even
though NJAPC did business with the Paterson
school district. As part of her job as the
District-Wide Coordinator of the Paterson
Resource Center, Taliaferro was tasked with
participating and becoming involved in annual
conferences for Paterson parents, which
focused on becoming better parents. It is
charged that, in reality, Taliaferro “outsourced”
her participation in the conferences to
NJAPC. It is alleged that Taliaferro created
the false impression that NJAPC was an independent
business entity. Moreover, it is alleged
that NJAPC received credits from hotels
where the conferences were held and never
reimbursed Paterson school district for
those funds. In addition, Taliaferro allegedly
used school district employees and equipment
for NJAPC business. Between February 2003
and July 2007, Taliaferro allegedly stole
$102,226.81 from the Paterson School District
by creating false impressions on one or
more fraudulent invoices submitted to the
school district by the NJAPC.
The
indictment further alleges that between
June and July 2007, Taliaferro deposited
a check from NJAPC for $25,000 that she
knew had been forged.
The
investigation was coordinated by Sergeants
Warren Monroe, James Scott, and Thomas Culp,
Detective Robyn Greene, Analyst Kathleen
Ratliff and Deputy Attorney General Richard
Queen. Queen presented the case to the state
grand jury. The investigation began when
the Department of Education referred the
matter to the Division of Criminal Justice.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a $150,000 fine, while
third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence
of five years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
The indictment is merely an accusation and
the defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
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