NJ Heating Assistance Administrator Gets Five-Year Prison Sentence for Fraud
Campbell was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing $24,000 from New Jersey’s low-income energy assistance program. (image: guardian.co.uk)
Constance Campbell, a local manager of New Jersey’s Home Energy Assistance (HEA) Program, siphoned $24,000 in state funds away from low-income households in need and took it for herself and five family members. All pleaded guilty, and the punishments for Campbell’s relatives ranged from probation and restitution to one year in jail. On Monday the New Jersey Superior Court sentenced Campbell to five years in prison for her role as the ringleader in the scheme to defraud the heating assistance program, reported the news site NJ.com.
Campbell wasn’t the only HEA administrator to steal from the program. Nicole Victor was indicted in May for stealing from the assistance program, and on Monday pleaded guilty to official misconduct, the same charge leveled against Campbell. Victor has now admitted to stealing nearly $12,000 and also faces a possible five-year sentence. If Campbell’s case is any clue, then Victor is likely to be sentenced to the full five years.
Said Attorney General Paula Dow:
These defendants had a duty to honestly administer the heating assistance program, but they instead devised schemes to defraud it. These cases send a strong message that we will aggressively prosecute those who abuse public positions for personal gain.
New Jersey’s investigation into heating assistance fraud has also uncovered a heating oil supplier who helped both Campbell and Victor perpetrate their crimes. Thomas Harris of Harris Fuel Oil illegally gave out cash in exchange for heating assistance checks instead of heating fuel. Harris would give less cash than the assistance checks were worth, and then pocket them for himself in the full amount. He did this for many legitimate HEA beneficiaries, but also worked with the fraudulent HEA administrators. In June Harris was sentenced to four years in prison.
Stephen Taylor, director of the state’s Division of Criminal Justice, hoped that their efforts would quell corruption in the HEA Program and let state money reach those who need it: “Through prosecutions such as these, we are working to deter the type of fraud that drives up the cost of public assistance programs.”
Like most states, New Jersey is strapped for cash and its energy assistance program is stretched thin by strong demand. Any money taken from the program is money taken out of the pockets of families struggling to stay warm in the winter.
