Global Navigation
Office of The Attorney General
The State of New Jersey Office of The Attorney General (Dept. of Law & Public Safety) The State of New Jersey NJ Home Services A to Z Departments/Agencies OAG Frequently Asked Questions
Services A to Z Departments/Agencies OAG Frequently Asked Questions
OAG Home
OAG Contact
spacer
Back to News Releases
OAG Home Attorney General's Biography
Attorney General's Biography
spacer spacer spacer
   
 
spacer spacer spacer
spacer spacer spacer
For Immediate Release: For Further Information:
June 26, 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
spacer
spacer spacer spacer
spacer
Newark Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Leading Scheme to Steal $1.5 Million in Unemployment Benefits
Charged in investigation by AG’s Office and Department of Labor & Workforce Development
spacer
spacer spacer spacer
spacer
click image to enlarge...
spacer
spacer spacer spacer
spacer
TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Newark man was sentenced to state prison today for orchestrating a scheme to steal nearly $1.5 million in unemployment benefits from the State of New Jersey.

Terry Dilligard II, 39, of Newark, was sentenced to 18 years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Timothy P. Lydon in Mercer County. Dilligard pleaded guilty on April 13 to second-degree charges of theft by deception and money laundering. He was sentenced to nine years in prison 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 received a concurrent seven-year prison sentence on that charge. In addition, Dilligard signed a consent judgment to pay $1 million to the state. Deputy Attorneys General Philip Leahy and Anthony Torntore prosecuted Dilligard. Deputy Attorney General Torntore handled the sentencing 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.

“Dilligard committed one of the largest thefts ever from a government assistance program in New Jersey, so it is just that he is receiving one of the longest prison sentences ever imposed for such a crime,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “This prison sentence serves as a stern warning to anyone who would engage in this type of fraud.”

“In Operation Labor Day, we uncovered more than $2 million in thefts from New Jersey’s unemployment insurance fund and charged nearly 30 defendants,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We will continue our strong partnership with the Department of Labor to guard this critical financial lifeline for workers in New Jersey.”

“Working in partnership with the state Office of the Attorney General, we have prosecuted everyone caught defrauding the system to the fullest extent and we will continue to maintain a no-tolerance stand against anyone who steals from the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund,” said Commissioner Harold J. Wirths of the New Jersey Department of Labor. “The anti-fraud measures we’ve implemented have prevented more than $620 million from reaching the hands of those cheating the system and we will continue to advance our fraud detection procedures to protect this important safety net.”

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.

spacer
spacer spacer spacer
spacer
 
News Index Page I top
 
Executive Assistant Attorney General
Attorney General's Message Ask the Attorney General
Contact OAG About OAG
OAG News OAG Frequently Asked Questions
OAG Library Employment
OAG Grants Proposed Rules
OAG History OAG Services A-Z
Statutes
OAG Agencies / Programs / Units
Other News Pages Otras Noticias en Español Division of NJ State Police Division of Law News Governor's Office News Division of Highway Traffic Safety News Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Juvenile Justice Commission News Division on Civil Rights News Division of Consumer Affairs News Division of Criminal Justice News Election Law Enforcement Commission Division of Gaming Enforcement News
NJ State Police News Governor's Office News Division of Highway Traffic Safety News Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Juvenile Justice Commission News Division on Civil Rights News Division of Consumer Affairs News Division of Criminal Justice News Election Law Enforcement Commission Division of Elections News Division of Gaming Enforcement News Office of Government Integrity News
   
Contact Us | Privacy Notice | Legal Statement | Accessibility Statement
NJ Home Logo
Departmental: OAG Home | Contact OAG | About OAG | OAG News | OAG FAQs
Statewide: NJ Home | Services A to Z | Departments/Agencies | FAQs
Copyright © State of New Jersey
This page is maintained by OAG Communications. Comments/Questions: email or call 609-292-4925
OAG Home OAG Home NJ State Police News Governor's Office News Division of Highway Traffic Safety News Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Juvenile Justice Commission News Division on Civil Rights News Division of Consumer Affairs News Division of Criminal Justice News Election Law Enforcement Commission Division of Elections News Division of Gaming Enforcement News Office of Government Integrity News Click to Enlarge Image Click to Enlarge Image Click to Enlarge Graphic Click to enlarge chart Click to enlarge map Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click on image to enlarge... Click on image to enlarge... Click to enlarge...Click to enlarge...Click to enlarge...Click to enlarge... Click to enlarge...