Suzanne Eyman, 43, of Bordentown, N.J., who is suspended without pay from her position as head bookkeeper for the DDD, and her husband, Stephen Muller, 49, were each charged with second-degree theft by deception. They were charged by complaint-summons on Tuesday, Jan. 26, as a result of an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. The case was referred to the Division of Criminal Justice by the Division of Developmental Disabilities after the DDD discovered that Eyman allegedly had been submitting false payment vouchers, and she and her husband allegedly had been receiving direct deposits and checks from the State Department of Treasury as a result.

The DDD contracts with vendors who provide care to disabled individuals. As head bookkeeper, Eyman was responsible for collecting the invoices and supporting documents submitted by vendors and entering the information into a computer database to electronically submit the vouchers to Treasury for payment. In August 2006, Eyman allegedly established an individual named “Suzanne Muller” as a purported vendor for the DDD, using her husband’s Social Security number. Over the course of the next nine years, Eyman allegedly submitted false vouchers from the DDD for Suzanne Muller that caused Treasury to issue more than 100 checks and payments totaling $296,216, which were either mailed to an address used by the defendants or directly deposited into personal bank accounts of the defendants. From November 2012 through December 2014, 86 checks totaling $134,895 allegedly were directly deposited into a personal bank account of Stephen Muller. After every direct deposit, Stephen Muller allegedly wrote a check to Eyman or transferred funds electronically to her bank account. However, frequently the amount transferred to Eyman was less than the amount deposited into Stephen Muller’s account. Muller allegedly retained control of $30,135 over that two-year period.

“Rather than honorably fulfilling her duties, which involved her in the financial aspects of the state’s compassionate efforts to assist disabled individuals and their families, Eyman allegedly saw those efforts as an opportunity to steal,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “We allege that by stealing nearly $300,000, along with her husband, she selfishly put her own interests ahead of the interests of some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.”

“The taxpayers of New Jersey cannot afford to pay the bill for public employees who break the law and steal government funds,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “This is an especially egregious case of public corruption, both because of the amount of money allegedly stolen and the manner in which Eyman is alleged to have shamelessly exploited her critical role in the billing process for services for people with disabilities.”

In many instances, the data allegedly keyed into the DDD’s voucher system by Eyman revealed that she was using information from legitimate invoices to create fraudulent vouchers to be paid to “Suzanne Muller.” Once Eyman logged the valid invoices into the computer, she allegedly would then submit them a second time, changing either the client’s identity or the service date slightly and altering the payee’s name to “Suzanne Muller.” It is alleged that, beginning in October 2012, Eyman fraudulently established “Suzanne Muller” as a respite provider for the DDD and falsely billed the state for respite provider services that were never actually rendered. Respite providers provide care to a child or adult with special needs in order to provide temporary relief to families who are caring for that child or adult.

Acting Attorney General Hoffman thanked the Division of Developmental Disabilities for conducting an initial investigation and referring the matter to the Attorney General’s Office. Hoffman commended the detectives from the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau who conducted the investigation for the Attorney General’s Office. Deputy Attorney General Mallory Shanahan is assigned to prosecute the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The charge is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Because the charge is an indictable offense, it will be presented to a grand jury for potential indictment.

Acting Attorney General Hoffman and Director Honig noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has a toll-free Corruption Tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities confidentially. The public can also log on to the Division webpage at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing confidentially.

####