Couple Who Had Point Pleasant Home Charged With Sandy Fraud

POINT PLEASANT, NJ — A Morris County couple is among four people who have recently been charged with filing fraudulent claims related to Superstorm Sandy, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced on Wednesday.

Carmine Fusco, 50, and Lauri Fusco, 50, of East Hanover, are accused of receiving a total of $152,280 in funds after claiming their Point Pleasant home that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy was their primary home, authorities announced.

The pair allegedly said their Point Pleasant home was their primary residence, despite actually living in East Hanover and using the beach house as a vacation home. They were given $2,280 from FEMA and $150,000 in RREM grant funds, Grewal said.

A total of 125 people have been charged with filing fraudulent claims concerning Superstorm Sandy since March 2014, according to the Attorney General’s Office. As a result, authorities say a total of $8 million in relief funds has been diverted.

“Any fraud against public assistance programs is deplorable, but these thefts were especially egregious because they diverted funds intended for victims left homeless by one of the most devastating storms in New Jersey history,” Grewal said. “We have recovered well over $2 million through these prosecutions, and we also have sent a strong message that should deter this type of fraud during future disaster relief efforts.”

Two other people have also recently been charged, according to a release from the Attorney General’s Office.
Shawn T. Conlon, 39, of Brick, and Zakir Hossain, 47, of Atlantic City, were both charged with theft by deception in similar cases, the Attorney General's Office said on Wednesday.

“Through this historic anti-fraud program, we have held over 100 defendants accountable for allegedly lying about vacation homes and other secondary properties in order to steal relief funds intended for victims whose primary homes were damaged,” said Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We also have charged a number of renters who falsely claimed they were displaced by the storm or lost personal property. This collaborative state and federal initiative will undoubtedly serve as a model for other jurisdictions that face these issues in future disaster relief efforts.”

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The new cases were investigated by detectives of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and special agents and inspectors of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, HUD Office of Inspector General, SBA Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The National Insurance Crime Bureau assisted. Deputy Attorneys General William N. Conlow and Derek Miller are prosecuting the new defendants for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Mark Kurzawa and Bureau Chief Julia S. Glass. Lt. David Nolan and Sgt. Fred Weidman conducted and coordinated the investigations for the Division of Criminal Justice, with others, including Special Civil Investigators Ronald Rauer and Scott Naismyth.

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