Embezzlement by NJ Volunteers/Public Officials/Professionals 2023

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5.  Charter School Founder Directs Contracts to His Company (older than other posts)

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced today that the founder of an Egg Harbor Township charter school and its business administrator were indicted after allegedly structuring an over $100,000 contract so it would be awarded to the school founder’s outdoor furniture-making company, which did not fulfill the terms of the deal. Peter Caporilli, 59, of Absecon, and Michael Falkowski, 48, of Point Pleasant, have been indicted by a grand jury. The founder and former Board of Trustees president of Principle Academy Charter School, Caporilli is facing an eight-count indictment. Falkowski, the school’s business administrator, is facing five counts. Caporilli’s furniture company, Pleasantville-based Modern Boat Works, which also did business under the name Tidewater Workshop, was brought up on six counts. The defendants were originally charged on January 11, 2022 as part of an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. “These defendants used their positions of power over the spending of this charter school to fix the contract-awarding process to enrich the school board president and his business,” said Attorney General Platkin. “The misuse of taxpayer dollars for personal gain should not – and will not – be tolerated.” “Other contractors were never given a fair shot at winning this job, as they should have been,” said Thomas Eicher, Executive Director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. “And the company that did win the contract not only had a conflict of interest, but it also never followed through, preventing this school from getting what it paid for. This was a shameless swindle of public funds that also did a disservice to children.” The OPIA investigation determined the crimes allegedly occurred between August 2018 and late January 2019. The case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office in July 2019 by the State Department of Education, which suspected Caporilli, who was simultaneously president of the school board and CEO of Modern Boat Works, steered contracts for outdoor furniture and an outdoor learning center to his business. That company received contracts from Principle Academy totaling $115,000 to build an outdoor learning center at the back of the school. Prosecutors say that the alleged co-conspirators broke up the project into smaller contracts valued at $40,000.00 and $75,000.00 respectively, to evade public bidding requirements and prevent competing contractors from bidding on the first phase of the job. The second, $75,000 phase was put out to bid in a newspaper public notice published on November 5, 2018. Nine businesses reached out and expressed an interest in submitting proposals. But investigators say Falkowski did not send them the necessary paperwork to submit bids until November 13, 2018. The proposals were due November 16, 2018, leaving competing bidders less than three days to complete and physically deliver their bids. Ultimately, only one company submitted a bid: Modern Boat Works. Investigators said the school also made payments to the furniture company before the school board approved spending the money. And OPIA found Modern Boat Works never completed the project as originally contracted. Caporilli allegedly approved a change order scaling back the project without changing the price. Even after the scope of the project had been reduced, the contractor allegedly failed to live up to the less-demanding terms of the deal. The New Jersey State Police executed a search warrant on the premises of the charter school on October 6, 2022. Police said their search did not find a completed “outdoor learning center” as approved by the board, but rather a haphazard collection of wooden furniture in poor condition. Five second-degree counts were filed against all three defendants — conspiracy, theft by unlawful taking, official misconduct, false representation for a government contract, and misapplication of entrusted property. Each carries a sentence of five to 10 years behind bars and a $150,000 fine. Mar 2 4.  Village Deputy Mayor (and family) Pilfer Money from Nonprofit.

The former Haverstraw village deputy mayor was sentenced Monday to five years probation and ordered to pay restitution on her guilty plea to pilfering money from a nonprofit agency.

Emily Dominguez had pleaded guilty to felony fourth-degree grand larceny as part of a scheme with her sister and mother to steal $11,477 in funds and donations from the Rockland Community Foundation.

Emily Dominguez was once a foundation board member and former president. The foundation oversees and administers hundreds of charitable funds in Rockland.

5/24/2023

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2023/05/24/haverstraw-ny-deputy-mayor-probation-sentence-rockland-community-foundation-theft/70248994007/

3.  NJ Lawyer Stole More Than $500,000 from Clients

     A former New Jersey lawyer was sentenced to prison for stealing more than half a million dollars in settlement funds from two dozen of his clients in Brooklyn and nearly $100,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, local prosecutors said.  Raleigh Douglas Herbert, 61, of Chatham, was sentenced Wednesday to one to three years in prison, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. Herbert pleaded guilty to second- and third-degree grand larceny as well as first-degree scheme to defraud on Dec. 16, 2022.

     According to Gonzalez, citing evidence, said that, from 2015 to 2021, Herbert, who handled wrongful arrests and personal injury cases against New York City, embezzled about $493,000 from 16 of his clients in Brooklyn by depositing checks received from negotiated settlements into his attorney escrow account.

     In order to hide these thefts, Herbert lied to his clients about why they did not receive the money, including blaming COVID-19 related court closures or claiming that the victims had liens that prevented him from paying them when no such liens existed.

     Additionally, Herbert stole about $96,000 by filing fraudulent loan applications through the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) run by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

     Herbert was arrested on Feb. 1, 2022, and again on May 2, 2022, under two separate indictments that were later combined. Subsequently, Herbert was arrested for a third time, on Dec. 7, 2022, on a felony complaint charging him with stealing about $77,000 from eight additional clients who came forward following his second arrest.

 

 March 2, 2023

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/disbarred-nj-lawyer-sentenced-to-prison-for-stealing-more-than-500000-from-clients/4132246/

2.  Jersey City Board of Education President and Director of City Jobs Program Embezzles

Sudhan Thomas, the former Jersey City Board of Education president and former executive director of the city’s now-defunct jobs program, pleaded guilty Wednesday to embezzling and wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.  Thomas, 47, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to two counts of an indictment charging him with embezzling funds in 2019 from the Jersey City Employment and Training Program (JCETP), an organization that received federal funds; and wire fraud for embezzling money from his 2016 Jersey City Board of Education election campaign.

Using his access to JCETP funds and control of JCETP’s bank accounts, from March 2019 through July 2019, Thomas embezzled more than $45,000 from JCETP. He also embezzled JCETP funds by issuing JCETP checks made out to cash that Thomas either cashed himself or used to obtain bank checks that he made payable to Next Glocal, an entity for which Thomas was a director.

A former employee, Nuria Sierra, filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2019, accusing Thomas of misusing at least $16,500 in agency funds after diverting $77,000 to new accounts and writing checks to cash and himself in a lawsuit. The lawsuit was settled for $175,000.

At the same time he was embezzling funds, Thomas continued to make wild and false accusations of financial impropriety against the former director of the program, former Gov. Jim McGreevey.  Thomas was charged in January 2020, just two weeks after he was charged by state authorities with taking $35,000 in bribes related to his 2019 BOE reelection campaign.

June 21, 2023

https://www.nj.com/hudson/2023/06/former-jersey-city-ed-board-presidentjobs-program-director-admits-embezzling-funds-wire-fraud.html

1.  Youth Soccer League Director Steals $91,000

A New Jersey couple was arrested after allegedly stealing more than $91,000 from a youth soccer league to fund their splurges, including a trip to Disney World, police said.

Joseph Murawski, a former field director for the Old Bridge Soccer League, and his wife, Kathleen, were booked Monday for making a series of unauthorized withdrawals from the organization’s accounts for personal purchases.

After being alerted by the league about the missing funds, police said a six-month investigation revealed that the Murawskis took the money to lavish their own family with gifts.

“It was determined that the couple made unauthorized withdrawals of money from the league’s accounts to fund personal purchases, including, but not limited to, expenses related to a trip to Walt Disney World and other travel, an extravagant party for their child, Amazon purchases and utility bills for their home,” Old Bridge police said in a statement.

The couple, who have since moved to Manalapan, was charged with theft of movable property over $75,000, conspiracy to commit theft and fraudulent use of a credit card.

July 11, 2023

https://nypost.com/2023/07/11/nj-couple-caught-stealing-91k-from-youth-soccer-club/