TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced today that a business owner from Point Pleasant has been indicted for allegedly stealing nearly $57,000 from New Jersey’s unemployment insurance fund by applying for unemployment benefits and fraudulently concealing that she was working and receiving income from her own company.

Mary G. Rapkowicz, 56, of Point Pleasant, was indicted by a state grand jury yesterday (Sept. 12) on charges of theft by deception (3rd degree), tampering with public records or information (3rd degree), unsworn falsification to authorities (4th degree), and falsifying or tampering with records (4th degree). The indictment resulted from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice with the assistance of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The indictment alleges that Rapkowicz collected a total of $56,925 in unemployment benefits from September 2009 through August 2011 by failing to disclose that she owned a company, the Center for Dental and Medical Training (CDMT), which she managed and which provided her with income. Rapkowicz incorporated CDMT as a limited liability company in August 2009, with herself as sole proprietor and executive director. The next month, she applied for unemployment benefits with the Department of Labor. It is alleged that on her initial application and on each of the eligibility certifications that she was required to file every two weeks while receiving benefits, Rapkowicz fraudulently concealed that she was self-employed as a corporate officer of her own company and received income as a result. On the initial application, she answered “No” to questions that specifically asked whether she worked part-time, whether she was self-employed, and whether she was a corporate officer.  She received $575 per week in unemployment benefits throughout the period in question.

Third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.  Fourth-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and fine of up to $10,000. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Thomas W. Sumners, Jr. in Mercer County, who assigned the case to Monmouth County, where Rapkowicz will be ordered to appear in court for arraignment at a later date.

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