Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that an Ocean County couple was indicted today by a state grand jury for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from more than 20 victims who hired the couple’s home improvement companies to repair or rebuild their homes after Superstorm Sandy.
The victims paid the couple and their firms over $1 million, mostly in Sandy relief funds, but the couple allegedly diverted much of the money to gamble and buy luxury items, leaving homes in disrepair.
Jeffrey Colmyer, 41, and Tiffany Cimino, 33, who live together in Little Egg Harbor, N.J., were indicted today, along with their home improvement contracting companies, Rayne Construction Management Services, LLC (RCMS) and Colmyer & Sons, LLC, on charges of second-degree conspiracy, second-degree theft by failure to make required disposition of property received, two counts of second-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity (money laundering), second-degree misconduct by a corporate official, third-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity (structuring) and third-degree tampering with public records or information.
Colmyer and Cimino also are charged various third-degree counts of filing a fraudulent tax return, failure to file tax returns, and failure to pay taxes.
The couple was arrested on Oct. 11, 2016.
Colmyer and Cimino allegedly diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars their victims paid to have their homes repaired, elevated and rebuilt. The couple allegedly used the funds to pay personal expenses, including jewelry purchases by Cimino, including a $17,000 diamond ring, and hundreds of thousands of dollars that Colmyer gambled at seven casinos in Atlantic City.
Meanwhile, they abandoned jobs, or in many cases failed to even start jobs, leaving many victims with uninhabitable homes. Most of the funds that allegedly were stolen came from the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program, a Sandy relief program administered by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The RREM Program was the state’s largest Sandy housing recovery program and provided grants to impacted homeowners to cover rebuilding costs up to $150,000 that were not covered by insurance, other federal relief funds, or other sources.
The tampering charge relates to the fact that the defendants allegedly lied about Colmyer’s ownership interest in RCMS in applying for and obtaining a Home Elevation Contractor Registration through the Division of Consumer Affairs. The defendants allegedly falsely claimed that Colmyer had less than a 10 percent interest in RCMS, because the application requires that anyone with an interest of 10 percent or more disclose whether he or she has been convicted of certain crimes, such as theft. Colmyer has two prior convictions for theft by failure to make required disposition of property.
Colmyer and Cimino posted bond of $150,000 each after their arrests and were released from jail. Since their arrests, the Division of Consumer Affairs has concluded its civil action against the defendants. As a result of the Division’s civil action, the Department of Community Affairs has disbursed an additional $776,000 in federal relief funds to allow RREM recipients who were alleged victims of Colmyer and Cimino to hire new contractors to repair their storm-damaged properties so they can finally return home.
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The money laundering and structuring charges carry sentences consecutive to the sentence for the theft charge, and carry potential additional penalties of $250,000 and $75,000, respectively.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.