TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that a Somerset County contractor was sentenced
today for submitting false payment claims
on behalf of his family’s company under
a contract to replace doors in four schools
in Clark Township.
According to Criminal Justice
Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Rantik Parikh,
48, of Warren, was sentenced to two years
of probation by Superior Court Judge Robert
Billmeier in Mercer County. Parikh and the
family company he operated, Parikh Inc., pleaded
guilty on Sept. 28 to a criminal charge of
submitting false contract payment claims.
Under the plea agreement, Parikh and Parikh
Inc. are debarred from public contracts in
New Jersey for a period of five years.
Deputy Attorney General Pearl
Minato prosecuted the case for the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau and
represented the state at the sentencing hearing.
The defendants were indicted
last year for making false representations
in submissions to the New Jersey Schools Construction
Corporation, now the Schools Development Authority,
in connection with a 2004 contract to replace
doors at the Johnson, Kumpf, Valley Road and
Hehnly Schools in Clark. In pleading guilty,
Parikh admitted that he submitted false certifications
in connection with payment claims filed under
the $295,500 contract.
The investigation by the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau revealed
that the defendants falsely certified in a
January 2005 payment application to the Schools
Construction Corporation that a subcontractor,
Rangam Consultants Inc., had been paid for
work performed. They further certified that
any additional money owed to any subcontractors
would be paid within 10 days of receipt of
the next contract payment. Based on the representations,
the SCC authorized a $57,000 payment to Parikh
Inc. in May 2005. However, the state’s
investigation revealed that the first time
any money was paid to Rangam was nearly 18
months after the certification.
The investigation was conducted
by Sgt. David Salzmann and Sgt. Frederick
Weidman of the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau.
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