West Orange Biz Owner Pleads Guilty To Newark Watershed Billing Scheme

West Orange, NJ – A West Orange man who was the sole proprietor of two companies that purportedly provided printing and digital marketing services to the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation (NWCDC) admitted his role in a conspiracy to fraudulently bill the agency for more than $110,000 for work that was never performed, authorities announced Monday.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of NJ, Kevin Gleaton, 52, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud with Donald Bernard Sr., Linda Watkins Brashear and other conspirators, as well as to defraud the NWCDC of money and property.

Gleaton also pleaded guilty to misuse of Social Security numbers in connection with personal bankruptcy proceedings, prosecutors said.

According to court documents and statements, from May of 2011 to September of 2012, Gleaton allegedly conspired with Bernard, who was then employed as manager of Special Projects for the NWCDC, former NWCDC executive director Brashear and other unnamed conspirators to defraud the NWCDC of more than $110,000 for work that was never performed.

Prosecutors said that Gleaton was the owner of the Synergy Group, a company that received more than $58,000 in 2011 from the NWCDC, purportedly for printing services, as well as Mindshare Media, which received more than $52,000 from the NWCDC in 2012, purportedly for digital marketing services.

Gleaton deposited the payments issued to his companies by the NWCDC on the basis of fraudulent invoices, and then provided a substantial portion of the money received — more than $97,000 — to Bernard, who, in turn, shared a portion with Brashear and others, prosecutors stated.

Gleaton then provided the money to Bernard either directly, or indirectly through a "consultant intermediary," an individual who operated a firm that provided consulting services to the NWCDC, prosecutors said.

Authorities stated that the conspiracy was facilitated by interstate wire transmissions, including emails sent by Bernard to Brashear and the consultant intermediary.

Prosecutors said that Brashear pleaded guilty in December of 2015 to scheming to defraud the NWCDC of her honest services in the affairs of the NWCDC by taking kickbacks (from various vendors including Gleaton), and of the NWCDC's money and property, as well as to subscribing to a false federal personal income tax return.

In January 2016, Bernard pleaded guilty to Counts 9 and 10 of a 20-count indictment returned in December 2014, charging him with the use of interstate facilities to promote and facilitate bribery in violation of the Travel Act, and Count 1 of an information that charged him with making and subscribing a false personal tax return.

Gleaton also admitted to using multiple Social Security numbers, other than the number lawfully issued to him by the Commission of Social Security, in connection with his bankruptcy filings in 2011 and 2012, prosecutors stated.

The counts of wire fraud conspiracy and misuse of Social Security numbers each carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of the greatest of $250,000 per count or twice the gain or loss resulting from the offenses, prosecutors said.

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