The homeowners are accused of falsifying applications to claim that their part-time homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 were actually their primary residences, authorities said. Watch video
TRENTON -- Five people were charged on Thursday with filing falsified applications to get tens of thousands in federal Hurricane Sandy aid, state officials said.
The charges bring to 50 the number of people who have been accused by the state Attorney General's Office since March 2014 of trying to cheat the government out money meant for people in need of recovery from the 2012 hurricane.
In these cases, the suspects, all charged with theft by deception and unsworn falsification, are accused of getting money to which they were not entitled from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a Sandy relief program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, low-interest disaster loans from the federal Small Business Administration or financial assistance from the state Department of Human Services, said acting Attorney General John Hoffman.
5 charged with Hurricane Sandy relief fraud
Dennis Zawadzki, 63, of Clifton, is accused of stealing $174,051 by filing false applications for FEMA assistance and state grants under the Homeowner Resettlement Program (RSP) and the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program. Hoffman said Zawadzki falsely claimed in the applications that a storm-damaged property that he owned on West Potomac Drive in Little Egg Harbor Township was his primary residence when Sandy hit. But authorities say his primary home was in Clifton and the property in Little Egg Harbor Township was a summer home.
Hoffman said Zawadzki received $2,270 in FEMA relief funds; a $10,000 resettlement grant and a total of $161,781 RREM grant.
Juli Schaber, 58, of Colonia, is accused of stealing $128,313 in grants related to the storm-damaged property she owns in the Ortley Beach section of Toms River, Hoffman said. She claimed the property she owns on Eisenhower Avenue in Ortley Beach was her primary residence when Sandy struck when she actually lived full time in the Colonia section of Woodbridge at the time, Hoffman said.
Daniela Cannizzo-Rybak, 36, of Little Falls stole a total of $111,630, Hoffman said, by claiming that her home on East Navasink Drive in Little Egg Harbor Township was her primary residence when she actually lived in Garfield at the time.
Nancy L. Fletcher, 54, of Ringwood is accused of stealing $32,759 for falsely claiming that her storm-damaged property on Bayberry Road in Lavallette was her primary home at the time of the storm when she actually lived full-time in Ringwood, Hoffman said.
Christopher Carlino, 51, of Staten Island, N.Y., stole a total of $56,248 by filing false applications that said a storm-damaged house he owns on Alcala Drive in Brick was his primary residence at the time of the hurricane when he actually lived in Staten Island then, Hoffman said.
"Lying to collect any form of public assistance is inexcusable, but it is especially egregious in the context of a major disaster like Superstorm Sandy, when all available funds are needed for those who were hardest hit and who legitimately qualify for aid," Hoffman said in a prepared statement. "These offenders also burden relief administrators, who must allocate time and resources to police this fraud, rather than focusing entirely on helping those most in need."
Zawadzki, Schaber and Cannizzo-Rybak face between five and 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, if convicted of their second-degree theft charges.
Fletcher and Carlino face between three and five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000 if convicted of their third-degree theft charges.
"We're working diligently with our state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that every allegation of fraud involving these Sandy relief programs is thoroughly investigated," said Elie Honig, director of the of the state Division of Criminal Justice. "Our goal in these joint efforts is to recover the stolen funds and also to send a clear message that this type of fraud will be met with serious criminal charges, now and during any future disaster relief efforts."
The new cases were investigated by detectives of the state Division of Criminal Justice and special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, the HUD Office of Inspector General and the SBA Office of Inspector General.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.