2 Mercer Lead Inspectors Admit Getting Illegal Overtime Pay:Feds

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — Two lead inspectors working for the City of Trenton admitted receiving overtime payments for work they did not do, officials said.

The two men, one from Mercer County and the other from Bucks County, PA, fraudulently inflated the overtime hours they claimed to have worked conducting residential lead inspections, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Michael Ingram, 71, of Trenton, and William Kreiss, 40, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to information charging them with one count of conspiracy to embezzle, steal, and obtain by fraud more than $5,000 in funds from the city of Trenton.

According to court documents, Trenton’s Department of Health and Human Services (Trenton HHS) was required to provide services to identify lead sources in homes where children had tested positive for elevated levels of lead in their blood.

Beginning around 2018, a New Jersey State grant funded inspections of such Trenton properties and Trenton’s Bureau of Environmental Health (BEH) was responsible for performing these residential lead inspections.

Ingram, a public health investigator for BEH, and Kreiss, a registered environmental specialist for BEH, conducted residential lead inspections with other members of BEH from February 2018 through May 2022.

The BEH employee to whom Ingram and Kreiss reported began directing them to bill overtime hours for work they did not perform, according to court documents.

Ingram and Kreiss submitted their fraudulent and inflated overtime claims to this BEH employee, who then authorized overtime payments to each of them, authorities said.

Ingram and Kreiss each admitted submitting claims for overtime work and also admitted they had inflated claims for overtime hours worked in connection with a meal delivery program administered by the city, court documents said.

Through this scheme, Ingram admitted he received $22,144 in overtime payments, and Kreiss admitted receiving $32,806 in overtime payments, authorities said.

Ingram and Kreiss each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for April 24, 2024.

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