Jersey City Accountant Charged with Embezzling $1M
An article from nj.com discusses the recent guilty plea of a 60-year-old accountant to embezzling $1 million in cash and stock from Bel Fuse, Inc. The man was a senior accountant for the Jersey City firm which manufactures telecommunications equipment. Based on the article, in pleading guilty on November 19, 2009 to wire fraud charges in federal court in Trenton, the accountant now faces up to 33 months in prison under the conditions of his agreement with prosecutors. However, judges are not limited to such agreements and have wide discretion when imposing the man’s sentence, which is scheduled to be handed down on February 18, 2010.
Apparently, the accountant took 30,000 shares of stock and $500,000 from the retirement, stock-option and profit sharing plans of Bel Fuse, Inc. The certified public accountant was in charge of managing the Bel Fuse, Inc. day-to-day stock options plan, 401(k) plan, and profit-sharing plan. After it was discovered that he was illegally transferring stock to himself and inflating his contributions to the company’s 401(k) and profit-sharing plans, he was fired during a routine audit. During the recent hearing, the man also admitted to illegally transferring 2,000 shares of stock into a brokerage account regulated by his son who was not an employee of Bel Fuse.
This case serves as a reminder that although our economy has presented many financial challenges and burdens, turning to theft or embezzlement is not a solution. It is also important to remember that although we may hear about incidents where a defendant pleads guilty to a crime, all charged individuals are innocent until proven guilty and we cannot allow the media or our imaginations to run away from the facts.
Those who are charged with a white collar crime in New Jersey, whether it is for embezzlement, forgery, credit card fraud, perjury, or counterfeiting, face very harsh penalties. However, if a defendant has an experienced New Jersey white collar crime defense attorney on his or her side, then there is a chance of having charges reduced or dismissed. If you have been accused of a white collar crime, please contact the criminal defense law firm of Lependorf & Silverstein. Call 609-240-0040 roday for a free consultation.
Source article: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/jersey_city_accountant_admits.html
