Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Ms. Erin Seal, 35, of Lindenwold, has been charged with Theft after stealing thousands of dollars in checks.
According to Ocean County officials, an investigation revealed that Seal devised a scheme to have music royalty checks made payable to her estranged husband, Manuel Seal, 60, formerly of Toms River, for his work as a Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer, forwarded directly to her and for her benefit.
Officials said Seal utilized a family member to cash those checks under the guise that she was lawfully entitled to them and relied upon fake emails purportedly sent by the victim to the defendant to support her criminal scheme.
During the time period spanning May 2018 through April 2020, Erin Seal fraudulently received approximately $100,000.
Officials say on December 2, Seal, accompanied by her attorney, surrendered herself to Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crimes Unit. She was processed and released on a summons pending a future court date.
Prosecutor Billhimer would like to commend the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crimes Unit and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office for their collaborative assistance in connection with this investigation leading to this theft charge.