Overcast 72°
Police & Fire
Ex-Asbury Park Hotel Manager Indicted In $486K Theft, Prosecutor Says Ex-Asbury Park Hotel Manager Indicted In $486K Theft, Prosecutor Says
Ex-Asbury Park Hotel Manager Indicted In $486K Theft, Prosecutor Says A former manager of three Asbury Park hotels has been indicted for stealing nearly a half-million dollars from the business, authorities said.  Larry Dembrun, 41, of Montclair in Essex County was indicted on one count of second-degree theft, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey. Dembrun was arrested in September by Asbury Park police and Monmouth County detectives., she said. The Monmouth County Grand Jury indictment alleges that Dembrun stole more than $486,000 while working as a general manager of the Asbury Hotel, Asbury Lanes, and the Asbury Ocean Club,…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
News
Prosecutor: Bean Counter Embezzled $1.1M From Bergen Firm With 'Ghost' Workers, Other Tricks Prosecutor: Bean Counter Embezzled $1.1M From Bergen Firm With 'Ghost' Workers, Other Tricks
Prosecutor: Bean Counter Embezzled $1.1M From Bergen Firm With 'Ghost' Workers, Other Tricks A bookkeeper from Hasbrouck Heights embezzled $1.1 million from a Bogota-based carpentry company by creating “ghost employees,” among other methods, authorities charged. Maribel Rios, 51 – also known as Maribel Roche – “engaged in various schemes” to “manipulate the company payroll system” over a three-year period, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Thursday. The prosecutor said these included: issuing payroll deposits to “ghost employees”; issuing company checks to accounts that she controlled; manipulating accounting software to justify the checks. Then she used the money on h…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Prosecutor: South Jersey HR Boss Stole $614K From SEA BOX Employer, Spent Some On Enlarged Butt Prosecutor: South Jersey HR Boss Stole $614K From SEA BOX Employer, Spent Some On Enlarged Butt
Prosecutor: South Jersey HR Boss Stole $614K From SEA BOX Employer, Spent Some On Enlarged Butt A 41-year-old human resources manager from Burlington County has been arrested for stealing more than $614,000 from her employer, authorities said. She spent the stolen money on a variety of personal items including overseas travel and buying a "buttock augmentation" for herself and a friend at a Las Vegas plastic surgery center, they said. Karen O’Brien of South Church Road in Maple Shade was charged with theft by unlawful taking and computed related activity for the purpose of executing a scheme to defraud, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Cinnaminson T…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
PA, NJ Ex-Con With 'Unparalleled Greed' Accused In 2nd Major Fraud Case, This One $1.25M PA, NJ Ex-Con With 'Unparalleled Greed' Accused In 2nd Major Fraud Case, This One $1.25M
PA, NJ Ex-Con With 'Unparalleled Greed' Accused In 2nd Major Fraud Case, This One $1.25M A 42-year-old Pennsylvania man previously convicted in a $1.4 million fraud scheme has been arrested again on similar charges -- this time in a $1.25 million case. William C. Huyler III, of West Chester, pleaded guilty last December to stealing $1.4 million in from eight Homeowner Associations (HOAs) located across Chester County, Montgomery County, New Jersey, Chester County District Attorney, Deb Ryan said. While awaiting sentences for that case, Huyler was slapped with theft by deception, forgery and more charges for fraudulently securing Small Business Admi…

SHARE

by Nicole Acosta & Cecilia Levine
News
Feds: Former Bergen Resident From CT Embezzled $540,000 From Ridgefield Park Security Firm Feds: Former Bergen Resident From CT Embezzled $540,000 From Ridgefield Park Security Firm
Feds: Former Bergen Resident From CT Embezzled $540,000 From Ridgefield Park Security Firm A former Bergen County resident now living in Connecticut embezzled $540,000 intended for a local company that she diverted into a PayPal account for herself, her husband and a co-worker, federal authorities charged. A federal judge in Connecticut ordered Melissa Corso, 50, of Groton, held pending transfer to New Jersey to face wire fraud charges after the FBI arrested her on Thursday. Corso and her husband lived in Closter when she worked for a Delaware-based security systems supplier with an office in Ridgefield Park, federal authorities said. For more than six years, beginning in early …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
New Jersey EMS President Charged With Stealing Nearly $100K From Rescue Squad New Jersey EMS President Charged With Stealing Nearly $100K From Rescue Squad
New Jersey EMS President Charged With Stealing Nearly $100K From Rescue Squad A Bergen County man was charged with stealing nearly $100,000 from the Essex County emergency rescue squad that he presided over, authorities said. Jonathan Arredondo stole more than $75,000 from various Nutley Emergency and Rescue Squad accounts and ran up more than $30,000 in personal finances, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, said Friday. The 30-year-old River Vale resident withdrew cash of approximately $5,000 increments and then deposited the money into his own personal bank accounts 19 times between May 2019 and August 2020, Stephens said. Arredondo serve…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Former Union Officer At Jersey City Med Center, 71, Admits Embezzling $40,455 Former Union Officer At Jersey City Med Center, 71, Admits Embezzling $40,455
Former Union Officer At Jersey City Med Center, 71, Admits Embezzling $40,455 The former secretary treasurer of a public workers union at Jersey City Medical Center admitted in federal court in Newark on Tuesday that she embezzled $40,455 from the local’s checking and savings accounts. Linda Rogers, 71, of Jersey City was employed at JCMC and held a part-time position at Local 2254 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union when she and her daughter, Jennifer, deposited 112 unauthorized union checks worth $35,267 to their joint checking and savings accounts, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. Rogers also transferred $5,1…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities: Office Manager, 35, Stole $1.1 Million From North Jersey Fire Protection Company Authorities: Office Manager, 35, Stole $1.1 Million From North Jersey Fire Protection Company
Authorities: Office Manager, 35, Stole $1.1 Million From North Jersey Fire Protection Company A former office manager of a North Jersey fire protection company was charged with stealing $1.1 million from the North Jersey business she had been working for over the course of three years, authorities said Monday. A representative of Firetronics, located on Wood Avenue in Secaucus, reported he noticed a theft from his bank account that stems between May 2017 and June 2020, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said. An investigation found that Sophia Diakomihalis, 35 -- an eight-year Firetronics employee -- had stolen more than $1.1 million from the company, Miller said. A Dec. 28 s…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Ex-Jersey City School Board Prez, Jersey Shore Lawyer Charged In $113,000 Embezzlement Schemes Ex-Jersey City School Board Prez, Jersey Shore Lawyer Charged In $113,000 Embezzlement Schemes
Ex-Jersey City School Board Prez, Jersey Shore Lawyer Charged In $113,000 Embezzlement Schemes A former Jersey City school board president pulled off a series of embezzlement schemes that netted more than $110,000 with the help of a Jersey Shore attorney, federal authorities said. Sudhan M. Thomas, 45, had previously been the acting executive director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program (JCETP), which “received substantial amounts of funding from federal grants from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Thomas -- known as "Tommy" -- paid personal debts and expenses with $45,000 that …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
North Jersey Union Officer Admits Embezzling From Local North Jersey Union Officer Admits Embezzling From Local
North Jersey Union Officer Admits Embezzling From Local A bus driver who served as finance officer for a North Jersey transportation workers union admitted in federal court Tuesday that he swiped $117,000 of the local’s money. Angel L. Garcia, 57, of Tampa, FL, pleaded guilty by videoconference to embezzling from the operating account of the Amalgamated Transit Workers Union Local 1614 in Sussex County. Garcia was a bus driver who held a part-time position as a financial secretary for five years at Local # 1614, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. “He alone was responsible for maintaining the check book and other financial documents of the unio…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Hudson Accountant Swiped Hundreds Of Thousands From Englewood Affordable Housing Corp Feds: Hudson Accountant Swiped Hundreds Of Thousands From Englewood Affordable Housing Corp
Feds: Hudson Accountant Swiped Hundreds Of Thousands From Englewood Affordable Housing Corp A Hudson County accountant embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing affordable housing to Englewood residents, federal authorities said Tuesday. Yezenia Castillo, 44, of Hoboken, was charged with four counts of wire fraud for “using her position as the accountant for the non-profit company to issue unauthorized checks made payable to herself or entities she controlled,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Although federal authorities didn’t publicly identify the company, Daily Voice learned that Castillo worked for the Great Englewood H…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
$368,783 Pension Theft Gets Teaneck Vending Machine/Jukebox Company Owner 2½ Years In Fed Pen $368,783 Pension Theft Gets Teaneck Vending Machine/Jukebox Company Owner 2½ Years In Fed Pen
$368,783 Pension Theft Gets Teaneck Vending Machine/Jukebox Company Owner 2½ Years In Fed Pen A well-known Teaneck businessman must spend 2½ years in federal prison for embezzling $368,783 from the employee pension fund of his vending machine and jukebox company, following his sentencing in Newark. Howard Preschel, 63, who paid five figures two years ago to settle a copyright infringement suit, admitted in federal court in Newark last August that he swiped the money over the course of at least eight years from CMG Vending Inc., which operated, leased, and rented vending machines throughout New Jersey and New York. Preschel founded and served as the trustee for the pension fund, from…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco