State Names Four More Superstorm Sandy Fraudsters

TRENTON - The state Attorney General's Office has charged four more people - including a Toms River woman - with filing phony applications for Superstorm Sandy funds.

That brings the total number of those charged since March 2014 to 120, with $2.2 million recovered so far, Attorney Gurbir S. Grewal said. And the state is not done yet.

“Any fraud against public assistance programs is deplorable, but these thefts were especially egregious because they diverted funds intended for victims left homeless by one of the most devastating storms in New Jersey history,” Grewal said.

The 120 people charged were responsible for diverting more than $8 million in relief funds. The office will continue aggressive efforts to investigate fraud in Sandy relief programs. The Attorney General's office will work with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and the Offices of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“Through this historic anti-fraud program, we have held over 100 defendants accountable for allegedly lying about vacation homes and other secondary properties in order to steal relief funds intended for victims whose primary homes were damaged,” said Veronica Allende, Director of the state Division of Criminal Justice. “We also have charged a number of renters who falsely claimed they were displaced by the storm or lost personal property. This collaborative state and federal initiative will undoubtedly serve as a model for other jurisdictions that face these issues in future disaster relief efforts."

The following four defendants were charged this week:

Rhea Jolly, 61, Toms River, N.J. Jolly is accused of filing fraudulent applications and receiving $156,636 in relief funds she was not entitled to. Jolly falsely claimed that a home she owns on Beachwood Avenue in Toms River, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, was her primary residence when the storm struck. Jolly received approximately $23,285 from FEMA, approximately $123,351 in Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation grant funds, and a $10,000 Homeowner's Resettlement grant. She was charged with second-degree theft by deception.

Ralph Lubosco, 66, and Eileen Lubosco, 67, of Cream Ridge, N.J., allegedly filed fraudulent applications after the storm and received $134,981 in relief funds from FEMA and state grants under the Homeowner Resettlement Program, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) program. The two claimed in their applications that a home they own on Willard Drive in Manahawkin was their primary residence at the time of the storm, when they really lived in Cream Ridge, the state said.
The Luboscos received $2,270 from FEMA, approximately $122,711 in RREM grant funds, and a $10,000 RSP grant. Each of them is charged with second-degree theft by deception.

Peter Raia Jr., 51, Lodi, N.J., received $37,822 in relief funds he was not entitled to. Raia falsely claimed that a home he owns on Lincoln Avenue in Seaside Heights, N.J. which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, was his primary residence when Sandy struck. His primary home was actually in Lodi. The Seaside Heights home was a weekend property. Raia received $5,640 from FEMA, a $10,000 RSP grant, $14,000 in SBA loan proceeds, and $8,182 in SHRAP funds. Raia is charged with third-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification.

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller, New Jersey Department of the Treasury Office of Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the non-profit National Insurance Crime Bureau are also assisting the task force.

Photos: Courtesy of U.S. Attorney General's Office of New Jersey