Two former employees of a Bergen County watch manufacturer were charged today with orchestrating a scheme to defraud their employer out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of watches and watch parts using falsified documents and doctored corporate records, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Cynthia Espejo, 49, of Kissimmee, Florida, and Lissette Delarosa, 36, of Woodland Park, are each charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Espejo is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karla R. Spaulding in Orlando, Florida, federal court. Delarosa is scheduled to appear this afternoon in Newark federal court.
According to the criminal complaint:
From May 2003 through July 2010, Espejo and Delarosa abused their positions in the manufacturer’s Bergen County customer service department to fraudulently obtain company merchandise. Espejo and Delarosa created hundreds of fictitious invoices for watch parts in the manufacturer’s invoice system and directed those parts to be sent to addresses associated with Espejo, Delarosa, and others. The watch manufacturer received no payment related to these invoices and no legitimate basis existed for providing the parts free of charge.
Espejo and Delarosa also created dozens of fictitious customer complaints in the watch manufacturer’s invoice system, which resulted in “replacement” watches being shipped to addresses associated with Espejo and Delarosa.
The mail fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the amount of loss caused by the offense.