Ex-Newark Housing Authority Official Must Pay Back Embezzled $594K

NEWARK, NJ — A former information technology director was sentenced to two years in prison and will have to pay back nearly $600,000 after he pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from the Newark Housing Authority, authorities announced last week.

Venancio Diaz, 57, of Jersey City, previously served as the director of information technology at the Newark Housing Authority (NHA). He previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with committing theft from an agency receiving federal funds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors released the following statement about the case:

“From December 2013 to Aug. 10, 2021, Diaz bought, on behalf of NHA and using NHA funds, 1,509 electronic devices, primarily cellular telephones and tablets, from a telecommunications company. Diaz then caused those devices to be activated on NHA’s account on the company’s network for a short period of time – often only days or weeks. After the brief period of activation ended, Diaz posed as the owner of the devices and sold them to two different online electronics resale marketplaces. Diaz directed all the proceeds of the sales – a total of $594,425 – to his own bank accounts and kept the money for his own personal use.”

In addition to the prison term, Diaz was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $594,425 in restitution to the NHA. Diaz also previously consented to a $594,425 money judgment, forfeiting the monies he obtained as a result of his illegal scheme, and also agreed to forfeit electronic devices belonging to NHA that were seized by law enforcement or otherwise in his possession, including 27 cellular telephones, prosecutors said.

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