Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Bergen County man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and theft charges for leading a criminal scheme in which he and three other men stole over $180,000 from the State of New Jersey by filing false claims for unemployment benefits. The three co-defendants pleaded guilty in December. The charges stem from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Stephen Pirrone, 54, of Paramus (formerly of Old Tappan and Norwood, N.J.), pleaded guilty today to second-degree charges of conspiracy and theft by deception before Superior Court Judge James J. Guida in Bergen County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Pirrone be sentenced to seven years in state prison. He must pay restitution of $54,623 to the Department of Labor.
On Dec. 9, co-defendant Wilfredo Sanchez, 38, of Newark, pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy and third-degree theft by deception before Judge Guida. The state will recommend that Sanchez be sentenced to five years in prison, and he must pay $43,908 in restitution.
On Dec. 3, Jose Flores, 39, of Newark, and Andre Brown, 37, of Woodland Park, each pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by deception before Judge Guida. The state will recommend that Flores be sentenced to three years in state prison, and he must pay $25,502 in restitution. The state will recommend that Brown be sentenced to 364 days in the county jail as a condition of a term of probation. Brown must pay $59,400 in restitution.
The defendants were charged in a June 26, 2014 indictment obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau. Deputy Attorney General Debra A. Conrad prosecuted the case and took the guilty pleas. Judge Guida scheduled sentencing for Pirrone for April 17. The other three defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 27.
The state’s investigation revealed that Pirrone originated the fraudulent scheme and enlisted the other defendants. From November 2006 through March 2013, the defendants collected $183,433 in unemployment benefits on seven fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, including two filed by Sanchez and Flores using false identities. All of the false claims were based on fraudulent employer quarterly wage statements submitted to the state in the names of two businesses that were defunct: a trucking company formerly operated by Pirrone called Culver Transportation, Inc., and a bankrupt trucking company from which Pirrone formerly rented office and terminal space. Sanchez and Flores attempted to file additional claims using eight other false identities, but those claims were determined to be invalid by the Department of Labor and no benefits were distributed.
Pirrone owed a debt to Brown and used the scheme to pay off that debt. Pirrone also taught the scheme to Sanchez, who worked with Flores in filing false claims. Sanchez and Flores paid part of the proceeds of their false claims to Pirrone by wiring money to his commissary account in federal prison. Pirrone was sentenced to federal prison in March 2012 for fraudulently collecting federal tax refunds by filing false returns.