Lacey Man Charged With Pilfering Funds From Barnegat Education Association

The treasurer of the Barnegat Education Association was arrested early this morning at his Lacey Township home and charged with the theft of funds from two association accounts, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said.

Wayne Wedderman, Jr., 42, was taken into custody without incident after detectives obtained a search warrant for his Admiral Avenue home in Forked River. He was taken to the Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Investigations Unit where he was also charged with computer theft.

Wedderman is lodged in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River in lieu of $20,000 cash bail. He was charged with second degree computer theft and third degree theft, Coronato said.

The charges stem from an investigation begun by Ocean County Prosecutor Detective Brad Frank and Agent Stephen Shadiack on October 21, 2014, when board members of the Barnegat Education Association reported that approximately $23,000 was missing from two association accounts. Wedderman controlled the accounts as association treasurer for approximately two years, the prosecutor said.

Wedderman was authoring checks out of the association account for personal expenditures to himself and other family members. In addition to the checks, it is alleged Wedderman opened a debit card against association by-laws and utilized the card for ATM cash withdrawals and point of sale purchases.

He was taken into custody at 6 a.m. this morning by Ocean County Prosecutor Economic Crime Unit Detectives Brad Frank and Mark Malinowski, along with Unit Head Sgt. Cynthia Boyd,