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For Immediate Release: For Further Information:
April 13, 2015

Office of The Attorney General
- John J. Hoffman, Acting Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Elie Honig, Director
Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
 

Citizen Inquiries-

609-984-5828
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Newark Man Pleads Guilty to Theft and Money Laundering for Leading Scheme to Steal $1.5 Million in Unemployment Benefits
Faces long prison term in case filed by AG’s Office & Department of Labor & Workforce Development
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TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Newark man pleaded guilty today to theft and money laundering for orchestrating a scheme to steal nearly $1.5 million in unemployment benefits from the State of New Jersey.

Terry Dilligard II, 38, of Newark, pleaded guilty today to second-degree charges of theft by deception and money laundering before Superior Court Judge Timothy P. Lydon in Mercer County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Dilligard be sentenced to 18 years in state prison, specifically nine years for each charge, with the sentences to run consecutively. Dilligard also pleaded guilty to a second-degree charge of theft by deception for stealing $165,600 from Harrah’s Resort and Casino in Atlantic City by making copies of checks issued to him by the casino and fraudulently collecting payment on the copies as well as the original checks. He faces a concurrent seven-year prison sentence on that charge. Judge Lydon scheduled sentencing for Dilligard for June 5.

Deputy Attorneys General Philip Leahy and Anthony Torntore prosecuted Dilligard. Torntore took the guilty plea today for the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau. Dilligard was charged in “Operation Labor Day,” an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development.

In pleading guilty, Dilligard admitted to conspiring with others, including his ex-girlfriend and his father, to defraud the State of New Jersey out of a total of $1,489,411 in unemployment benefits. His ex-girlfriend, Monique Valentine, 36, of Roselle, N.J., was sentenced on Sept. 26, 2014 to five years in prison for her role in the scheme. Charges are pending against Terry Dilligard Sr., 60, of DeLand, Fla.

“Terry Dilligard II is the biggest con artist in a family of con artists who together committed one of the largest thefts ever from a government assistance program in New Jersey,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “Several other defendants already are serving lengthy prison sentences thanks to our joint investigation with the Department of Labor, and this guilty plea ensures that he will follow suit.”

“Through Operation Labor Day, we uncovered more than $2 million in thefts from New Jersey’s unemployment insurance fund and brought all of those responsible to justice,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We will continue to work with the Department of Labor to guard this critical financial lifeline for workers in New Jersey.”

“We have maintained a no-tolerance stand against anyone who steals from the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, and with the state Office of the Attorney General, we have prosecuted everyone caught defrauding the system to the fullest extent. We also have implemented anti-fraud measures that have, to date, prevented more than $550 million from going into the hands of fraudsters, and we continue to improve our fraud detection techniques to protect this important safety net,” Labor Commissioner Harold J. Wirths said.

Dilligard, Valentine and Dilligard Sr. were named in a March 1, 2012 indictment charging that between August 2006 and November 2010, they conspired to file false unemployment insurance claims which resulted in the theft of $1,489,411 in unemployment benefits from the State of New Jersey. Claims were filed in the names of numerous co-conspirators and individuals whose identities were stolen, including nine voters in Florida whose identities were allegedly stolen by Dilligard’s father.

A separate indictment returned on the same day charged Janice Allen, 59, of Newark, Dilligard’s mother, and Janice Dilligard, 38, of Newark, Dilligard’s twin sister, with stealing $585,304 by filing false unemployment claims in the names of numerous claimants, including relatives and people who were deceased. Both of those women were convicted at trial on Dec. 20, 2013 and each was sentenced to 15 years in state prison, including five years of parole ineligibility.

Twenty-six others defendants were indicted in the plot and 25 have either pleaded guilty or been admitted into the Pre-Trial Intervention program. The one remaining defendant, Tony Hardiman, is a fugitive.

The investigation began in 2010 when a debit card company affiliated with a bank used by the defendants alerted the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development about suspicious activity related to debit accounts, including account holders who were deceased and unemployment benefits for multiple claimants being deposited into the same account. The labor department’s fraud unit, the Bureau of Benefit Payment Control, identified numerous false claims linked to the accounts and alerted the Division of Criminal Justice. The Division of Criminal Justice and Department of Labor & Workforce Development then commenced their joint investigation, “Operation Labor Day.”

The investigation was conducted for the Division of Criminal Justice by Detectives Kimberly Allen and Eric Ludwick of the Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau, and Deputy Attorneys General Philip Leahy and Anthony Torntore of the Specialized Crimes Bureau. The investigation was conducted for the Department of Labor & Workforce Development, Bureau of Benefit Payment Control, by Supervising Investigator Micheal Kulyk, Supervisor of Investigations Michael Marich, former Supervising Investigator Susan Zamparelli, and former Acting Chief of the Bureau of Benefit Payment Control John Galvin. Attorney General Hoffman thanked the Office of Labor Racketeering & Fraud Investigations within the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), New York Regional Office, for its valuable assistance throughout the investigation. He also thanked the following agencies which provided assistance at various times: Boonton Police Department, New Jersey Human Services Police and the U.S. Marshals Service NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force.

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 confidentially report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. The public can also log on to the Division’s webpage at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing.

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