Guilty pleas in law school embezzlement case

[shu99]

Former Assistant Dean and Two Other Former Employees of Essex County Graduate School Admit Million-Dollar Embezzlement

NEWARK, N.J. – A former assistant dean and two other former employees of an Essex County graduate school pleaded guilty to defrauding their former employer of more than $1.3 million.

www.justice.gov

 

[Seton75]

Cannot understand why they didnt want to go after these people from the getgo.

Disgraceful behavior.

 

[HallX2]

shockingly abysmal controls.

 

[Piratz]

Ridiculous. What a circus.

 

[shupat08]

Cannot understand why they didnt want to go after these people from the getgo.

Disgraceful behavior.

Marino's friends.....????

 

[HallLine69]

What's with not identifying the Seton Hall Law School as the victim? And shame on these people for such disgraceful crimes.

 

[catholicman]

Shocking. And sad.

 

[Halldan1]

3 plead guilty to embezzlement of $1.3M from Seton Hall Law | ROI-NJ

Marking another step in the process of untangling an event that has brought so much tumult to Seton Hall University and its law school, three former employees of the law school pleaded guilty last week to their part in a scheme to defraud the university of $1.3 million. The trio admitted to a...

www.roi-nj.com

 

[HALL85]

Why we have an internal promotion for university president. What person in their right mind would have taken the job under these circumstances.

 

[HallX2]

What's with not identifying the Seton Hall Law School as the victim? And shame on these people for such disgraceful crimes.

That’s what the prosecutors do with embezzlement

 

[batts]

I can never understand the mindset of people who embezzle from their employer. Same thing happened in my office building. The controller and office manager of a German company stole over a million dollars with fake vendor invoices. The scam was exposed by an audit which led to the arrest of 3 people. The two employees lost their jobs and agreed to a settlement to payback their employer to avoid jail time.

 

[andover joe]

Batts, it's greed, lack of integrity, a poor moral fiber[and a darn shame.

 

[Seton75]

Batts, it's greed, lack of integrity, a poor moral fiber[and a darn shame.

Yup. I have had some things suggested to me that I turned down without a thought as they were so obviously the wrong way to act. I have to admit it makes me wonder if the money was life changing what would my answer be. I think no. But who knows. I have read many incidents over the years where people embezzle 25-50K. And we dont read about the thousands of them who get away with it I bet, or dont get prosecuted.

 

[SHUHitman]

"According to the report from NJAM, prosecutors allege that, between 2009 and July 2022, the three women worked together to misappropriate more than $1.3 million in a number of ways, including:

• DeAlmeida instructed a vendor to pay Martins and Cardoso as employees, even though they did not perform any work. DeAlmeida then had the vendor submit false invoices to the school to reimburse the vendor for sums paid to Martins and Cardoso, prosecutors alleged.
• DeAlmeida used the school-issued credit card to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars in prepaid debit cards and other gift cards from the school store, purchases that prosecutors said DeAlmeida fraudulently approved while Martins and Cardoso forged signatures of other employees for internal approvals.
• In 2015, Martins opened a shell company called CMS Content Management Specialist LLC, and fraudulently billed the school for $208,000 of services never provided, officials said. DeAlmeida approved the expenses, according to authorities."

Does the University not have internal audit personnel, if not a department? The methodologies above are textbook examples that are taught to students in our accounting classes. This is not some complex, intricate embezzlement scheme. This is a trio of criminal scumbags who used the easiest, oldest tricks in the book to scam the University for nearly 15 years. Not only is that pathetic on the part of the individuals involved, but frankly I find it inexcusable that not a single individual picked up on this or raised a red flag this entire time.

I hope we pursuing legal remedy from that vendor as well, IMO. The vendor flat out defrauded us and their actions helped further perpetuate all of this.

Beyond that, the University is audited. While it's very hard for an audit team to detect fraud when there are multiple conspirators at work, not a good look for them either IMO.

 

[jack 1970]

shockingly abysmal controls.

Right.Went on for 13 years.Doesn't the school have someone who's in charge of financial controls?A CFO or Controller?

 

[SHURich]

I’d love to know why the BOR wanted to keep it silent. Several posters seemed to feel it would harm the school’s reputation. Now many are starting to question the school’s actions.

 

[NYShoreGuy]

Same type of scene with wsou in the 2000s and the former faculty director

 

[batts]

I’d love to know why the BOR wanted to keep it silent. Several posters seemed to feel it would harm the school’s reputation. Now many are starting to question the school’s actions.

When I first heard about the story, I wanted the perpetrators exposed and subjected to harsh criminal penalties. I still feel that way but I understand the reason for keeping it quiet because it embarrasses the school and ruins the careers of higher ups (e.g. Dean) who did not know about the scheme. With that said, however, the school should have sought prosecution of the 3 people involved in the scheme from the very beginning.

 

[HallX2]

Right.Went on for 13 years.Doesn't the school have someone who's in charge of financial controls?A CFO or Controller?

CFO resigned earlier this year. Perhaps under pressure.

 

[HallX2]

When I first heard about the story, I wanted the perpetrators exposed and subjected to harsh criminal penalties. I still feel that way but I understand the reason for keeping it quiet because it embarrasses the school and ruins the careers of higher ups (e.g. Dean) who did not know about the scheme. With that said, however, the school should have sought prosecution of the 3 people involved in the scheme from the very beginning.

According to Nyre’s lawsuit the Board gave the Dean a 7 figure exit package. Apparently that was an element of the friction between the board and Nyre.

 

[Section112]

According to Nyre’s lawsuit the Board gave the Dean a 7 figure exit package. Apparently that was an element of the friction between the board and Nyre.

Yeah, because the BORs probably wanted it kept quiet and Marino wanted the Dean to not take a hit to her reputation which could cause career issues in the future. But aren't the BORs supposed to be there for SHU only and to be stewards of SHU first and always?

Shameless all around and they (BORs) deserve a big hit to their reps for allowing this all to happen on their watch and be persuaded by Marino who is clearly a junkyard dog but needed to be taken down a few rungs. The whole thing reeks. Nyre will lose the lawsuit but he's won in the court of public opinion and exposed the ugly underbelly of how SHU is run and managed. Even if Marino has given the school a lot of $, SHU should distance themselves from him as much as possible.

Might be a positive in the end and I hope Msgr. Reilly is ready to make some changes.

 

[Halldan1]

The whole thing reeks. Nyre will lose the lawsuit but he's won in the court of public opinion and exposed the ugly underbelly of how SHU is run and managed. Even if Marino has given the school a lot of $, SHU should distance themselves from him as much as possible.

No doubt it's a bad look, But very doubtful the school distances itself from Marino.

 

[HALL85]

No doubt it's a bad look, But very doubtful the school distances itself from Marino.

At the end of the day money speaks louder than operating to core values.

 

[HallX2]

No doubt it's a bad look, But very doubtful the school distances itself from Marino.

He is a very prominent attorney and a big booster of the law school. I imagine many on the BOR are okay with Nyre departing. Not saying it’s right just that Nyre lost the power struggle. He got a deal and now wants to alter it and air laundry. Marino’s take will be see I told you so.