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John Bishop, 57, of Celebration, Florida, was sentenced on Friday, July 15 to four years in state prison for theft by failure to make required disposition, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Bishop worked 11 years as a Harrison police officer in Hudson County, before retiring in 2006, according to NJ Advance Media.
Paul Rueda, 50, of San Diego, Texas, was sentenced to five years in state prison on the same charge, Billhimer said.
These sentences relate to the defendants stealing funds through contractor businesses they operated between October 2014 and May 2017 in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in Ocean and Monmouth Counties, the prosecutor said.
As part of their sentences, Bishop was ordered to pay $178,425 in restitution to the victims, and Rueda was ordered to pay $542,800 in restitution to the victims. Both entered guilty pleas in May.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crimes Unit revealed that Bishop and Rueda formed John Paul Building, LLC, in November 2012.
The investigation further revealed that six homeowners throughout Ocean and Monmouth Counties entered into contracts with John Paul Builders, LLC, to repair their homes following Superstorm Sandy.
Collectively, these homeowners paid John Paul Builders, LLC, in excess of $350,000, which the defendants agreed to use to complete the projects.
The homeowners received little to no work on their projects, however, and the company disbanded without returning any of the funds to the homeowners, Billhimer said.
Subsequently, between July 2016 and May 2017, Rueda entered into agreements with four additional homeowners under his newly formed contracting business, PKR Construction.
These homeowners paid PKR Construction a total of $363,575 for construction projects on their properties. Although some work was performed by PKR Construction, Rueda converted the victims’ funds to his own personal use and benefit and failed to complete the projects, the prosecutor said.
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