Newtown Man Indicted In Scheme To Defraud Public Schools

Three men, including one from Newtown, have been charged in a scheme to defraud the Bristol Township School District of more than $373,000, United States Attorney Zane David Memeger announced Tuesday.

Ernest Neff, 58, of Newtown was involved in the scheme with the district’s former maintenance director, Memeger said.

Neff is charged along with former maintenance director James N. Anders, Jr, 59, of Willow Grove and Patrick Squires, 58, of Voorhees, N.J.

The three are charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy and five counts of wire fraud, Memeger said.

The indictment alleges that from September 2006 to September 2011, the three men abused Anders’ position as maintenance director to “enrich themselves and to advance their personal business interests,” causing a loss to Bristol Township School District of approximately $373,450, Memeger said.

“It is alleged that on a dozen transactions between September 2006 and July 2010, Anders, Squires and Neff manipulated the required ‘quote‘ process to ensure that a company controlled by defendant Squires would be selected for the transaction,” Memeger said in a statement.

If convicted of all charges, they each face a maximum sentence of 105 years in prison, a $1.5 million fine, a $600 special assessment, restitution of approximately $373,453 and forfeiture, Memeger said.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Education Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joan E. Burnes.