Lakehurst Man Who Stole $200K From Homeowners Gets Prison

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Lakehurst man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing more than $200,000 from homeowners in an age-restricted community in Toms River, instead of doing work at their homes.

Robert M. Cohan, 36, of Lakehurst, was sentenced Friday by Superior Court Judge Kimarie Rahill to the prison term for his guilty plea on Aug. 28 to theft by deception, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

In addition, he is required to make restitution of nearly $220,000 to his victims, Billhimer said.

Cohan was arrested in June 2022 after an investigation found he had solicited several residents in the Gardens at Pleasant Plains to do repairs to driveways, sidewalks, roofs and other home repairs, but after taking deposits performed little to no work, authorities said.

Authorities said he specifically targeted those residents, and fraudulently posed as the family member of a legitimate company, between February 2022 and May 2022.

In September 2022, while released from jail to await trial, Cohan approached an elderly woman at a bank in Berkeley Township and solicited money from her, using a false identity. He then repeatedly asked her for more and more money, including funeral expenses for his purportedly deceased father-in-law.

"Cohan would also accompany the victim to several banks — convincing her to withdraw large sums of money from her account or by way of credit card cash advances — which totaled approximately $20,000," the prosecutor's office said.

Cohan was arrested Oct. 5, 2022 in that case and has been held in the Ocean County Jail since then.