Ocean County trio indicted for embezzling funds from Veterans non-profit
The Ocean County trip charged with embezzling nearly $30,000 from a non-profit that provides services and assistance to veterans in the area have been indicted by a Grand Jury, according to a statement from Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer on Thursday.
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Jesse Violante, 34, of Tuckerton, Mary Anne Dileo, 67, of Manahawkin, and Gary Mclain, 34, of Little Egg Harbor, were indicted for Theft by Unlawful Taking after they took money from the Lacey based Vetwork, where they are former employees, between February of 2018 and June of 2019.
Violante worked as the head of the Board of Director's of Vetwork while the embezzlement took place when he was responsible for overseeing all employees and certifying expenses.
Dileo was the office manager at the time and she was responsible for processing payroll.
Mclain was in charge of community outreach while working there.
The Board of Directors commissioned an audit of their finances after Violante, Dileo and Mclain all received extra payroll outlays more than what they were supposed to be getting.
The Ocean County Prosecutors Office then began investigating the misconduct and learned that Violante, Dileo, and Mclain took additional payments on certain weeks which equaled out to more than their regular payroll checks and salaries.
Violante took in five extra payments totaling $5,855 during the embezzling period, Dileo collected twenty-six duplicate payments totaling $19,588 while Mclain received five duplicate payments totaling $4,972.
The OCPO learned that these extra payments were not approved by the Board of Directors or included in documents submitted to the County.
Violante and Dileo ended up surrendering to law enforcement and were charged on summonses, processed by the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office and then released pending a future court appearance.
Mclain, originally charged on a warrant, surrendered himself as well and was later released under New Jersey Bail Reform laws.
Prosecutor Billhimer said that Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Heisler is handling the case on behalf of the State.