TRENTON
– Division of Criminal Justice Director
Vaughn L. McKoy announced that the Major
Financial Crimes Bureau has charged four
New Jersey residents with illegally collecting
more than $44,900 in Unemployment Insurance
(UI) benefits. The prosecutions resulted
from a cooperative investigative effort
by the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development (DLWD)and the Division of
Criminal Justice.
According
to Director McKoy, the Division of Criminal
Justice - Major Financial Crimes Bureau
obtained separate State Grand Jury indictments
charging four individuals with theft by
deception and unsworn falsification to
authorities for bilking the New Jersey
UI benefits program out of more than $44,900.
"The
Division of Criminal Justice and the Department
of Labor and Workforce Development have
established investigative protocols which
target deliberate and blatant attempts
by individuals to steal thousands of dollars
from the state unemployment fund,"
said Criminal Justice Director McKoy.
“Make no mistake, we intend to investigate,
prosecute, recoup and return dollars stolen
from our unemployment compensation programs."
"The
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
uses a variety of methods to track down
those who abuse the system and fraudulently
obtain benefits," said Unemployment
Insurance Director David Socolow. "These
cases were first identified by DLWD investigators
by cross-matching employer-submitted wage
information against UI benefit payments;
pursuing leads from employer protests
of UI benefit charges; surveying employer
payroll records; and responding to alerts
from the staff of our local claims offices."
A
Jan. 31 State Grand Jury indictment charged
Robert T. George, 35, Boyden Parkway,
Maplewood, Essex County, with theft by
deception and three counts of unsworn
falsification for bilking the UI benefits
program out of $17,304. According to the
indictment, George filed four separate
UI benefits claims between June, 1998
and November, 2002. An investigation by
the Division of Criminal Justice determined
that, during the time he was collecting
on these claims, George was working as
an adjunct professor at Essex County College,
yet not reporting the earnings to the
DLWD.
A
separate indictment filed on Jan. 25 charged
Leon P. Retzlaff, 60, Franklin Street,
Morristown, Morris County, with two counts
of theft by deception and one count of
unsworn falsification to authorities.
Retzlaff filed for and collected on two
separate claims for UI benefits - the
first was from August, 1999 to April,
2000 and the second was from September,
2000 until March, 2001. An investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice determined
that from October, through December, 1999,
Retzlaff was employed as a xerox operator
by Truckmann’s Inc., located in
Morristown. The investigation further
found, approximately a month after filing
for his second claim, Retzlaff again began
working as a xerox operator, this time
for Basil G. Phillips t/a VIP Copy Center
in Cedar Knolls, Morris County . By not
reporting either of the claims to the
DLWD, Retzlaff fraudulently collected
more than $15,570.
A
third indictment, also filed on Jan. 25,
charged Otis L. Jones, 49, Valisburg Terrace,
Irvington, Essex County, with theft by
deception and unsworn falsification for
allegedly bilking the UI benefits program
out of $6,396. Jones filed for UI benefits
in November, 1999. The week after he filed
for these benefits, he began working as
a crane operator for the Joseph B. Zamelsky
Company in Newark, Essex County.
The
Division of Criminal Justice filed a fourth
State Grand Jury indictment on Jan. 25,
charging Robert M. Polite, 54, Vincent
Court, Essex County, with theft by deception
and unsworn falsification. Polite filed
a UI benefits claim in January, 2000,
when he was temporary laid-off from his
position as a machinist for P&K Pole
Products, located in Newark. An investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice determined
that In March, 2000, he was recalled back
to work, but failed to report his re-employment
to the DLWD. By not providing this information,
Polite allegedly bilked $5,643 out of
the UI benefits program.
Deputy
Attorney General Ed Werner presented the
George case. DAG Denise Grugan presented
the Retzlaff, Jones and Polite cases.
Retzlaff’s case will be referred
to Morris County, and George’s,
Jones’ and Polite’s cases
will all be venued in Essex County.
Theft
by deception is a third degree crime which
carries a maximum penalty of up to five
years in state prison and a fine of up
to $15,000, while unsworn falsification
to authorities is a fourth degree crime
which calls for up to 18 months in state
prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
An
indictment is merely an accusation. The
defendants are presumed innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law.
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