Burlington County Woman Admits To Defrauding State Out Of Almost $300,000

A suspended bookkeeper for the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) has pleaded guilty to using her position to steal nearly $300,000 via phony bills for services purportedly provided to DDD clients and having the payments go to her, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said.

Suzanne Eyman, 44, of Bordentown, pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree theft by deception. She was previously suspended without pay from her position as head bookkeeper for the DDD.

Eyman faces five years in state prison, and must pay $296,216 in restitution. She must also forfeit her job, and will be permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.

Eyman’s husband was initially charged with receiving funds in the scheme, but the state dismissed the charge against him.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6.

The case was referred to the Division of Criminal Justice by the Division of Developmental Disabilities after the DDD discovered that Eyman had been submitting false payment vouchers and receiving direct deposits and checks from the State Department of Treasury as a result. The DDD contracts with vendors who provide care to the disabled.

As head bookkeeper, Eyman was responsible for collecting the invoices and supporting documents submitted by vendors and entering the information into a computer database to electronically submit the vouchers to Treasury for payment.

Eyman admitted that in August of 2006, she used her husband’s social security number to establish an account for “Susan Muller” as a vendor for DDD.

For most of the next nine years, Eyman submitted false vouchers from the DDD for Suzanne Muller that caused Treasury to issue over 100 checks and payments totaling $296,216.

These payments were either mailed to an address used by Eyman or direct-deposited into bank accounts she controlled.

In many instances, Eyman was using information from legitimate invoices to create fraudulent vouchers to be paid to “Suzanne Muller.”

Once Eyman logged the valid invoices into the computer, she would then submit them a second time, changing either the client’s identity or the service date slightly and altering the payee’s name to “Suzanne Muller.”

Then, beginning in October of 2012, Eyman admitted she fraudulently established “Suzanne Muller” as a respite provider for the DDD and falsely billed the state for respite provider services that were never actually rendered.

Respite providers provide care to a child or adult with special needs in order to provide temporary relief to families who are caring for that child or adult.

The attached image of Suzanne Eyman was provided by the Attorney General’s Office