These cases bring to 86 the number of people the state Attorney General's Office has charged with defrauding the federal government out of Sandy aid
TOMS RIVER -- Five property owners were charged Thursday with bilking the federal government out of nearly $300,000 in federal Hurricane Sandy aid by allegedly lying on their applications to get money to rebuild homes damaged by the 2012 storm.
In four of the cases state Attorney General Christopher Porrino laid out, the owners are accused of claiming they were applying for federal aid for their primary homes, which later were determined to be Shore vacation homes or rental property
In the other case, the applicant claimed money for a home his brother actually owned, Porrino said.
"Stealing any type of public aid is reprehensible, but it's especially egregious to steal relief funds in the context of a historic disaster, when every dollar is needed for recovery," said Elie Honig, director of the state Division of Criminal Justice. "We'll continue to pursue these prosecutions with our state and federal partners, so we can guard these funds and deter this type of criminal conduct in future emergencies."
Hurricane Sandy scam tally hits $20M with 150 charged since devastating storm
The charges bring to 86 the number of people the Attorney General's Office has charged with this type of fraud since March 2014.
Before this case, the Attorney General's Office filed charges against five others in January.
Eric Seaberg, 51, of Ocean Township is accused of getting $165,510 in aid by claiming a home he owns on Randall Avenue in Point Pleasant Beach was his primary residence when Sandy hit on Oct. 29, 2012. The investigation determined that the home was actually a rental property, Porrino said.
James Fomuke, 58, of Elizabeth, received $41,900 in Sandy aid by claiming a home he owns on South Burgee Drive in Little Egg Harbor was his main home, Porrino said. But the investigation showed the property was a secondary home that was either not used or rarely used rarely in the two years leading up to the storm and since then, he said. He said Fomuke was living at a business property in Elizabeth when Sandy hit.
Armand Arduino, 69, of Key Largo, Fla., accepted $37,372 in Sandy aid by claiming he owned a house on Ventnor Avenue in Ventnor damaged by the storm, Porrino said. The investigation showed Arduino's brother owned the house at the time, he said.
Dominic M. Moccia, 66, of Mahopac, N.Y., is accused of falsely claiming a house he owns on Webster Avenue in Seaside Heights was his primary residence when Sandy hit. Porrino said investigators determined that the property, for which Moccia received $33,839 in federal aid, was actually a vacation home.
Ryan K. Spill, 28, of Belmar, is accused of falsely claiming that a home he owns on South Boston Drive in Little Egg Harbor that was damaged by Sandy was his primary residence. Porrino said the investigation shows Spill, who got $12,270 in federal aid, lived in Freehold when Sandy hit and that the Little Egg Harbor house was a rental property.
All five men were charged in a complaint summons with theft by deception and unsworn falsification.
The new cases were investigated by detectives of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and special agents the offices of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The National Insurance Crime Bureau also assisted.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.