A former Mount Olive Township school district aide recently pleaded guilty to stealing more than $6,600 from the school district.
According to officials, the 43-year-old suspect, who worked as a special education aide for the Mount Olive NJ school district, falsely claimed that he worked more than 275 hours of overtime during the 2014-2015 school year in order to receive extra pay.
The suspect’s job primarily entailed working with one student with special needs. The fraud was discovered by the school district’s director of special services when he conducted an internal audit and reviewed the suspect’s hours and pay. During the audit, the director reportedly found falsified data when it came to the suspect’s reported work hours.
Shortly after investigators began their probe into the suspect’s alleged fraud, the suspect resigned from his position as a special education aide.
The suspect, who currently lives in Tampa, Florida, recently appeared in Morris County Superior Court in Morristown NJ and pleaded guilty to theft by deception.
During his court appearance, the suspect was questioned by the Morris County Superior Court judge. The suspect reportedly admitted that he committed fraud by submitting payment vouchers that falsely claimed he worked hundreds of overtime hours.
Since theft by deception is classified as a disorderly persons offense, the suspect faces up to six months in the Morris County Jail. However, the terms of the suspect’s plea deal with prosecutors call for the suspect to avoid jail time and instead be sentenced to one year of probation.
Additionally, the suspect will have to pay restitution of $6,604, as well as a $2,500 fine. The plea deal also requires the suspect to agree that he will never seek public employment as an educator in New Jersey.
For additional information about this case, read the DailyRecord.com article entitled “Ex-Mount Olive School Aide Admits $6,604 Theft.”