TRENTON
– Attorney General Zulima V. Farber
and Division of Criminal Justice Director
Gregory A. Paw announced that a New Jersey
state employee and a Robert Wood Johnson
Hospital employee are among eight people
who have been indicted in separate cases
on charges of defrauding the Unemployment
Insurance Benefits (UI) fund and Division
of Workers’ Compensation out of a
total of more than $116,300. The eight indictments
resulted from cooperative investigations
by the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development and the Division of Criminal
Justice - Major Financial Crimes Bureau.
"These
indictments charge the defendants with illegally
collecting thousands of dollars in benefits
to which they were not entitled," Attorney
General Farber said. "Our goal is to
identify those who cheat the system, prosecute
them and recover the money taken from the
state treasury."
"The
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
uses a variety of methods to track those
who would abuse the system and fraudulently
obtain benefits," said Commissioner
of Labor and Workforce Development David
J. Socolow. "These 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 the
staff of our local claims offices."
According
to Director Paw, an Aug. 25 state grand
jury indictment obtained by the Division
of Criminal Justice - Labor Prosecutions
Bureau charged Nancy R. Tyson, 42, of Trenton,
with two counts of theft by deception and
one count of unsworn falsification to authorities.
Tyson allegedly failed to report to the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
that she was employed by the State of New
Jersey Division of Revenue while she was
collecting on two UI benefits claims, one
that she filed in November 2001 and another
that she filed in December 2002. By not
reporting the wages from the state job,
Tyson allegedly received more than $10,700
in UI benefits to which she was not entitled.
The
Division of Criminal Justice - Labor Prosecutions
Bureau recently obtained seven other indictments:
- Jeremiah
Adams, 36, of Parlin, was charged
in an Aug. 18 indictment with two counts
of theft by deception and one count of
unsworn falsification to authorities.
The indictment charged that between September
2001 and February 2003, Adams worked at
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
while he was simultaneously collecting
on two UI benefits claims. By not reporting
these earnings to the labor department,
Adams allegedly bilked the UI benefits
program out of more than $24,600. indictment
- Derrick
Ladson, 38, of Paterson, was
charged in an Aug. 18 indictment with
four counts of theft by deception and
one count of unsworn falsification to
authorities for allegedly stealing more
than $23,900 in UI benefits. The indictment
charges that Ladson did not notify the
labor department that he was employed
by Drake Interstate Inc. at the same time
that he was collecting on four UI benefits
claims filed between April 2001 and Sept.
2005. indictment
- Sharon
Roberts, 41, of Newark,was charged
in an Aug. 4 indictment with two counts
of theft by deception and one count of
unsworn falsification to authorities.
Roberts filed for UI benefits in November
2000 and again in December 2001. Roberts
allegedly was employed by Interstate Brand
Corp. in Wayne at the same time that she
was collecting on the claims. As a result,
Roberts fraudulently collected more than
$14,100 in UI benefits, the indictment
alleges. indictment
- Iva
White, 50, of Vaux Hall, was
charged in an Aug.
24 indictment with theft by deception
and unsworn falsification to authorities.
White filed for UI benefits in March 2001
and collected on the claim until August
of that year. The indictment alleges that
White failed to report to the labor department
that she was employed during that time
as a medical biller by Associates in Primary
Care in Milburn. As a result, White allegedly
defrauded the UI benefits program of more
than $11,100. indictment
- V.W.
Smith, 58, of Rahway, was charged
in an Aug. 24 indictment with two counts
of theft by deception and one count of
unsworn falsification. Smith filed for
UI benefits in December 2000 and again
in January 2002. An investigation by the
Division of Criminal Justice - Labor Prosecutions
Bureau determined that Smith was employed
by Island Scrap Metal Co. in Perth Amboy
while collecting on each of these claims.
By not reporting this employment to the
labor department, Smith received more
than $10,900 in UI benefits to which he
was not entitled, according to the indictment.
indictment
- Hugo
Olarte, 46 of Wayne, was charged
in an Aug. 4 indictment with theft by
deception and unsworn falsification to
authorities. The indictment alleges that
between May and September 2001, Olarte
was employed as an anesthesia technician
by Bolton Medical Inc. in Fair Lawn. An
investigation by the Division of Criminal
Justice determined that during this time,
Olarte collected more than $9,800 on a
UI benefits claim without notifying the
labor department of his employment. indictment
Theft
by deception is a third-degree crime which
carries a sentence of up to five years in
state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
Unsworn falsification to authorities is
a fourth-degree crime which carries a sentence
of up to 18 months in state prison and a
fine of up to $10,000. The indictments are
merely accusations and the defendants are
presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Deputy
Attorney General Candy Cure presented the
Tyson case to the grand jury. DAG Erin Callahan
presented the Adams, Ladson, Roberts, White
and Olarte cases to the grand jury. DAG
Patrick Flor presented the Lee and Smith
cases to the grand jury. State Investigators
Gary O’Brien and Lynn Patrick Fitzgerald
coordinated the investigations.
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