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Monique Gee, 38, of Hillside certified that she’d sustained a knee injury on the job in Middletown on June 1, 2016, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said.
“On subsequent forms, Gee certified that she did not receive earnings from employment outside of her federal job,” Honig said.
The Jersey City native identified herself on social media as a self-employed costume jewelry operator, however.
Authorities discovered the operation – from which she “received substantial income” – after an undercover officer “placed an order from Gee’s business and made a payment for the order via a mobile payment platform,” Honig said.
“As a result of her false representations, Gee received more than $150,000 in federal workers’ compensation benefits to which she was not entitled,” the attorney general said.
A federal judge in Newark released Gee on $150,000 unsecured bond, with conditions, following a court appearance on Thursday.
She’s charged with “knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing, and covering up a material fact, and making a false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and representation in connection with the application for and receipt of federal workers’ compensation benefits.”
Honig credited members of the USPS Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Area Field Office with the investigation leading to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Pesce is handling the case for the government.
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ALSO SEE: Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years
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