Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a former police officer in Waldwick Borough, was sentenced today for stealing more than $321,000 by fraudulently collecting a disability pension from the State of New Jersey while working full-time as an officer in Georgia.
John Robert Marion, 44, of Valdosta, Georgia, was sentenced to 364 days in the county jail as a condition of four years of probation by Superior Court Judge Peter E. Warshaw in Mercer County. He was immediately taken into custody to begin serving his jail term.
Marion pleaded guilty on Nov. 12 to a charge of third-degree theft by deception. He must pay full restitution of $321,008 and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. He turned over a check for $100,000 in court today toward that restitution.
The investigation began with a referral from the Pension Fraud & Abuse Unit in the New Jersey Division of Pensions.
Marion was employed as a police officer in Waldwick, from 1998 through March 2008, when he retired on a disability pension, claiming medical and stress-related conditions. His disability pension was approved in August 2008, but was made effective as of April 1, 2008. Until his pension was terminated in 2015, Marion collected approximately $3,614 per month in disability pension benefits from the New Jersey Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS). He collected a total of approximately $321,008.
After the New Jersey Division of Pensions learned that Marion was working as a law enforcement officer in Georgia, it referred the case to the Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey State Police.
The state’s investigation revealed that, since August 2009, Marion has held successive positions as an officer in Georgia with the Clinch County, Echols County and Lowndes County Sheriffs’ Offices.
He applied for a Special Agent position with the South Georgia Drug Task Force just four days after his disability pension was approved in New Jersey. With the exception of about five months in 2010, he has been continuously employed since August 2009 without any restrictions on his duties. He currently is suspended from his job as an investigator for the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.
When the Division of Pensions learned of Marion’s employment in Georgia, he was asked to return to New Jersey for a psychological re-evaluation regarding his pension. During the re-evaluation, Marion lied to the evaluator, stating that he was not employed and had not been employed since his retirement, with the exception of a stint as a store clerk and delivering furniture for a relative.