Woodbridge Woman Stole $56K in Unemployment Benefits

WOODBRIDGE, NJ - A Woodbridge woman who worked as a clerk for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development was sentenced to prison Friday for stealing approximately $56,000 in unemployment benefits and directing the money to her daughters.

Lusselenia Lopez, 48, worked as a former state unemployment insurance clerk. She worked in Elizabeth, but lives in Woodbridge. She used her access to the department’s computer system to alter claims to provide benefits to her two daughters, New Jersey Attorney General Chris Porrino said. In one case, she tried to steal benefits from a stranger by redirecting his benefits to her own bank account.

Lopez pleaded guilty on Jan. 17 to the crime, on a charge of second-degree conspiracy to commit official misconduct. She was sentenced to five years in state prison. She and her two daughters must pay full restitution to the state.

Lopez is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.

Lopez was indicted last year in an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice, the U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General, and the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development-Office of Internal Audit.

The investigation revealed that Lopez stole a total of more than $31,000 through two separate claims for unemployment insurance filed by one of her daughters, one claim filed in May 2009 and the second in August 2011. In each instance, the daughter was deemed ineligible for benefits because she was terminated from her prior employment for cause. However, in each case, Lopez went into the labor department computer system to reverse the denial of benefits so that her daughter received numerous benefit payments that were deposited into bank accounts of the daughter and Lopez.

The investigation further revealed that Lopez stole $1,680 in unemployment benefits on a claim filed by her late husband. For four weeks after he passed away in August 2011, Lopez continued to receive benefits on his claim by certifying each week that her husband was able and available to work.

Lopez assisted a second daughter to receive more than $9,000 in unemployment benefits to which she was not entitled. That daughter obtained a new job which made her ineligible for benefits, but Lopez underreported the daughter’s income in a manner that made her appear eligible for full benefits.

Finally, the investigation revealed that Lopez stole nearly $14,000 by diverting benefits from a man whose claim had been temporarily suspended. In September 2013, Lopez went into the labor department computer system and reactivated the claim, while changing the address on the claim and directing that payments be direct-deposited into her own bank account.

“Rather than honestly serving the public and New Jersey workers, Lopez used her access to labor department computers to steal $56,000 in unemployment benefits for herself and her daughters,” said Attorney General Porrino. “This prison sentence demonstrates that we have zero tolerance for government employees like Lopez who corruptly betray the public’s trust for their personal gain.”

The two daughters who were involved in the fraudulent claims pleaded guilty in February to second-degree conspiracy to commit official misconduct, but they were admitted into the Pretrial Intervention Program. If they successfully complete the program, their charges will be dismissed; if they do not, they will be subject to a state prison sentence.