Jose Crespo, 50, and his wife, Marilyn Crespo, 48, both of New Castle, Delaware, were indicted yesterday on second-degree charges of conspiracy, theft by deception, computer theft and identity theft. In addition, the indictment charges Jose Crespo and a friend of his, Craig Mallone, 61, of Wilmington, Delaware, with separate counts of second-degree conspiracy, third-degree theft by deception, and second-degree computer theft in connection with a false unemployment benefits claim allegedly filed by Crespo in Mallone’s name through which Mallone received $12,825 in benefits.

The indictment stems from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. They were assisted by the New Castle County (Delaware) Police Department. The investigation began with a referral from the New Jersey Department of Labor, which uncovered the suspicious claims.

It is alleged that Jose Crespo, with the assistance of his wife, Marilyn, engaged in two separate schemes to steal a total of $317,736 from the State of New Jersey between December 2012 and December 2015. In the first scheme, Jose Crespo allegedly filed 19 fraudulent Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims, all of which listed the same two employers, which were shell companies set up in New Jersey that were connected to the Crespos. Of the 19 fraudulent UI claims, 11 used the identities of current or former inmates in the Georgia state prison system, and several others were filed in the names of members of the Crespo family. A total of $110,642 allegedly was stolen through false UI claims.

In the second scheme, Jose Crespo allegedly filed 23 fraudulent Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) claims which involved seven different employers, all of which again were shell companies connected to the Crespos, including the two companies used for the UI claims. Of the 23 TDI claims, 16 were filed in the names of current or former Georgia inmates, while others were filed in the names of members of the Crespo family. A total of $207,094 allegedly was stolen through false TDI claims.

“These defendants were absolutely prolific in their theft of government benefits, filing 42 false unemployment and temporary disability insurance claims in a span of just three years,” said Attorney General Porrino. “The message of this indictment is that the New Jersey Department of Labor has protections in place to detect this fraud, and we’ll continue to work closely with them to ensure that con artists like the Crespos are investigated, arrested and vigorously prosecuted.”

“This type of fraud is a crime against honest New Jersey workers who count on these benefits to keep them afloat financially if they lose their jobs or become disabled,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “This indictment was the result of great teamwork by our detectives, investigators from the New Jersey Department of Labor, and agents from the U.S. Department of Labor.”

“The Department of Labor and Workforce Development takes the protection of public funds seriously,” said Acting Commissioner Aaron Fichtner. “Our department is working closely with the Department of Law and Public Safety and with the federal government and we appreciate their efforts to ensure individuals caught trying to defraud the public ‎are charged and prosecuted.”

Since 2011, the Department of Labor has been cracking down on unemployment insurance fraud, saving the New Jersey Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund approximately $750 million to date. Among the many anti-fraud practices and procedures adopted are software and program changes that enable the department to detect false claims by cross-checking data internally and with other databases to flag invalid information or suspicious patterns involving common elements among multiple claims, such as identical residences or Internet protocol (IP) addresses.

Deputy Attorney General Danielle Scarduzio presented the case to the state grand jury for the Division of Criminal Justice. The investigation was conducted for the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau by Deputy Attorney General Scarduzio, Detective Christine Sullivan and Analyst Bethany Schussler. They worked with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. The investigation was conducted for the New Jersey Department of Labor by Supervising Investigator Michael Kulyk and Investigators Luke Schaffer and Thomas Fink of the Office of Benefit Payment Control.

Attorney General Porrino thanked Detective Keith Sydnor, Detective Mike Santos and Sgt. Steve Legenstein of the New Castle County (Delaware) Police Department for their valuable assistance.

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and fine of up to $15,000. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Peter E. Warshaw in Mercer County, who assigned the case to Mercer County, where the defendants will be ordered to appear in court at a later date for arraignment.

Defense Attorney for Jose Crespo: Gregory Aprile, Esq., Wayne, N.J.

Follow the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office online at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & YouTube. The social media links provided are for reference only. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office does not endorse any non-governmental websites, companies or applications.

####