Plainfield BOE Employee And Linden Lumber Company Owner Admit Defrauding School Board: US Attorney

Plainfield, NJ -- A Plainfield Board of Education employee and the owner of a Lumber company in Linden admitted to working together to create fake invoices to defraud the school board, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Wednesday.

The scheme resulted in losses of $19,927 to the Plainfield Board of Education.

Robert E. Banks, 54, of Piscataway pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Robert R. Dattilo, a part owner of Bayway Lumber in Linden, pleaded guilty before Judge Sheridan on Feb. 18, 2016, to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with this and other fraudulent activity.

• According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2007 to September 2015, Bayway Lumber had contracts with the Plainfield Board of Education to provide certain products at specified discounts from the manufacturer’s listed prices.

Banks was a carpenter and locksmith in the Plainfield Board of Education’s maintenance department and was responsible for purchasing supplies from vendors.

During that time, Bayway Lumber charged the Plainfield Board of Education prices that did not include the contractual discounts and, at times, even charged the Plainfield Board of Education for items it did not receive.

Afterwards, Banks signed off on the fraudulent and overbilled invoices.

In return, the Bayway Lumber employees used a portion of the proceeds to purchase over $9,000 in valuable items for Banks, including a laptop computer, a lawnmower, construction materials, and a dishwasher.

Banks could face a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 29.

Dattilo is scheduled to be sentenced on July 12.