| TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a former operations manager for a wholesale company in Clifton, N.J., that imports pharmaceutical ingredients was sentenced to state prison today for embezzling half a million dollars from the company.
Steven Dilk, 61, of Clifton, a former warehouse supervisor and operations manager for SST Corporation, was sentenced today to five years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Scott J. Bennion in Passaic County. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 5, 2015 to a charge of second-degree theft by deception. In pleading guilty, Dilk admitted that he stole $512,047 from his former employer. The thefts occurred between January 2006 and April 2013, when Dilk left SST Corporation to work for a competitor. He entered a consent order requiring him to pay full restitution.
Deputy Attorney General Janet Bosi handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. Former Deputy Attorney General Jacqueline M. Weyand took the guilty plea from Dilk.
An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice revealed that Dilk stole the money by fraudulently billing the company for import fees that he claimed to have paid on behalf of the company, when in fact he did not pay such fees during the period in question. Prior to the end of 2005, SST had its products shipped through JFK International Airport in New York, where it sometimes incurred “gate charges” that would be paid by Dilk and would then be reimbursed to him by the company. However, after 2005, SST received its shipments through Philadelphia International Airport, where it hired a shipping broker that handled any issues at the airport, including payment of any fees associated with the importation and receipt of shipments. Although Dilk did not personally incur any expenses for shipments received at Philadelphia International Airport, he submitted numerous false receipts to SST for “gate charges” that he claimed to have paid. As a result, he fraudulently received reimbursement totaling $512,047.
Detective Scott Stevens, Detective Mark Byrnes and Analyst Kim Geis conducted the investigation for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.
Acting Attorney General Hoffman and Director Honig noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has established a toll-free tip line 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. Additionally, the public can log on to the Division of Criminal Justice webpage at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing. All information received through the tip line or webpage will remain confidential. #### |
