Brick Man Charged With $136K In Sandy Fraud: AG

BRICK, NJ — A Brick man is one of four people who have recently been charged with filing fraudulent claims related to Superstorm Sandy, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced on Wednesday.

Shawn T. Conlon, 39, is accused of receiving $136,572 in Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program funds to which he was not entitled, authorities announced. He received the money after filing a fraudulent claim for a state grant.

Authorities said Conlon lied when he claimed his home on Adair Drive in Brick was his primary residence in his application. The home was damaged in the storm, which struck New Jersey, on Oct. 29, 2012.

It is alleged that his primary residence at the time of the storm was another property in Brick, and the property on Adair Drive was a rental property that was leased to a tenant. Conlon is charged with second-degree theft by deception.

Including Conlon, 125 people have been charged with filing fraudulent claims concerning Superstorm Sandy since March 2014, according to the Attorney General’s Office. As a result, authorities say a total of $8 million in relief funds has been diverted.

“Any fraud against public assistance programs is deplorable, but these thefts were especially egregious because they diverted funds intended for victims left homeless by one of the most devastating storms in New Jersey history,” Grewal said. “We have recovered well over $2 million through these prosecutions, and we also have sent a strong message that should deter this type of fraud during future disaster relief efforts.”

Three other people have also recently been charged, according to a release from the Attorney General’s Office.
Carmine Fusco, 50, and Lauri Fusco, 50, of East Hanover, and Zakir Hossain, 47, of Atlantic City, were all charged with theft by deception in similar cases, the Attorney General's Office said on Wednesday.

“Through this historic anti-fraud program, we have held over 100 defendants accountable for allegedly lying about vacation homes and other secondary properties in order to steal relief funds intended for victims whose primary homes were damaged,” said Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We also have charged a number of renters who falsely claimed they were displaced by the storm or lost personal property. This collaborative state and federal initiative will undoubtedly serve as a model for other jurisdictions that face these issues in future disaster relief efforts.”

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 charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The new cases were investigated by detectives of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and special agents and inspectors of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, HUD Office of Inspector General, SBA Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The National Insurance Crime Bureau assisted. Deputy Attorneys General William N. Conlow and Derek Miller are prosecuting the new defendants for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Mark Kurzawa and Bureau Chief Julia S. Glass. Lt. David Nolan and Sgt. Fred Weidman conducted and coordinated the investigations for the Division of Criminal Justice, with others, including Special Civil Investigators Ronald Rauer and Scott Naismyth.

The attached image of Shawn Conlon was provided by the Attorney General’s Office.