Two Jackson, NJ residents and one from Ewing, NJ indicted for defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense
Two Jackson Township residents and one from Ewing Township have been indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud in their years long scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense by giving them military equipment parts that were unauthorized under governing contracts, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Thursday.
Paul Mika, 74, who was the founder and owner of Monmouth Marine Engines Inc. which was under contract with the Defense Logistics Agency and had to supply DOD contracting entities with replacement hardware for their military branches, Sellinger said.
Paul Mika's wife Linda, 70, and their son Kenneth, 50, were employees at Monmouth Marine and collectively they allegedly got the contracts by claiming that the military parts they would be providing would be the exact products put together by actual authorized manufacturers or suppliers and with contracts in hand, they got substitute parts and gave those to the DOD instead all between March of 2016 and April of 2020.
Kenneth Mika, who was additionally charged with two counts of making false statements, told DLA auditors in February of 2020 that Monmouth Marine was authorized by Defense Contract Management Agency to substitute the military parts.
Kenneth then doubled-down and told the same thing to the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigation Service agents in July of 2020.
Attorney Sellinger said that each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, and each count of making false statements is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum $250,00 fine.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric A. Boden of the U.S. Attorney=s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense counsel:
Linda Mika: Dennis C. Carletta Esq., Cedar Grove, New Jersey.
Kenneth Mika: Eric W. Moran Esq., New York.
Paul Mika: Timothy R. Anderson Esq., Red Bank, New Jersey.