Heating Oil Assistance Fraud in New Jersey Leads to Another Indictment
New Jersey attorney general Paula Dow continues her office’s fight against corruption in the state’s heating assistance program. (image: nj.com)
More corruption has been uncovered in New Jersey’s Home Energy Assistance (HEA) program. An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau has already led to guilty pleas from one HEA administrator (and five of her family members) who filed false claims for assistance and the complicit heating oil dealer who exchanged their assistance checks for money instead of fuel. Now Attorney General Paula Dow has announced the indictment of another HEA administrator, Nicole Victor, who stands accused of stealing more than $13,000 by filing false claims for aid and taking the benefits for herself, reports NJ.com.
A portion of the $13,000 allegedly came from illegally trading assistance checks for cash. In this scheme Victor worked with Thomas Harris of Harris Fuel Oil, who was also connected to the previous corruption case and has pleaded guilty to defrauding the state program of $400,000 by offering cash instead of fuel for assistance checks. The check that Victor cashed through Harris Fuel Oil was issued on an HEA application in her own name.
Victor’s case has only just begun, but the cases against HEA administrator Constance Campbell and Thomas Harris are concluding and offer a clue of the punishment that Victor could face. Each awaits sentencing on May 27; Campbell faces up to five years in prison, and Harris could serve up to four years. For abusing her position and defrauding a program intended to help low-income households stay warm in winter, Victor could also be sentenced to several years in prison.
