Bergen Woman Accused Of Bilking Gov't Out Of $174K In Superstorm Sandy Funds

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — An Upper Saddle River woman accused of bilking the government out of Superstorm Sandy relief money was charged Tuesday, authorities announced Tuesday.

Jennifer Casey, 33, was one of five people charged in the latest round of investigations by state and federal authorities into people who lied about their place of residence with the storm hit New Jersey in 2012.

Casey was charged with second-degree theft and fourth-degree unsworn falsification after she allegedly lied on her aid applications and said her Toms River house was her primary home when it was damaged by the hurricane, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office announced.

Casey allegedly filed fraudulent applications for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management and state grants following Superstorm Sandy under the Homeowner Resettlement Program (HRP) and the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program, Porrino said.

To qualify for relief, applications must agree that the damaged property was their primary residence when Sandy struck New Jersey Oct. 29, 2012.

Of the nearly $175,000 Casey received, $162,000 came from the RREM program.

Casey faces a maximum of more than 11 years in state prison and a $160,000 in fines if convicted of the charges filed against her. She is one of five people charged in the latest investigation into Superstorm Sandy fraud by a task force comprised of people from the state Attorney General's Office, state Department of Community Affairs, several federal agencies and the nonprofit National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Since March 2014, the state Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 91 people for allegedly engaging in fraud involving Superstorm Sandy, including the five individuals charged today.

“Stealing any type of public aid is reprehensible, but it’s especially egregious to steal relief funds in the context of a historic disaster, when every dollar is needed for recovery,” said Elie Honig, director of the Division of Criminal Justice within the Attorney General's Office. “We’ll continue to pursue these prosecutions with our state and federal partners, so we can guard these funds and deter this type of criminal conduct in future emergencies.”

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Photo: Jennifer Casey, 33 — New Jersey Attorney General's Office