A former aide to New Jersey Representative Frank LoBiondo has been sentenced to prison on charges of embezzlement.
Andrew McCrosson, Jr., was accused of stealing more than $400,000 in campaign funds. Between 1995 and August 2010, McCrosson was the campaign treasurer for Rep. LoBiondo. He's also a former Upper Township mayor and has served as administrator in Ventnor City.
Prosecutors allege that over 15 years, he embezzled a total of $458,000 from the Rep. LoBiondo’s campaign. According to the charges against him, he misrepresented the funds balance in the campaign accounts to cover up the theft. In March, he pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and embezzlement.
He has now been sentenced to two and half years in prison. He's also required to serve at least three years of supervised release once out of prison. As part of the sentence, he must also pay full restitution to the campaign.
Embezzlement crimes fall under the category of white-collar crimes. White collar crimes are nonviolent crimes that are called so because of the belief that these nonviolent crimes are committed by people in “white-collar” occupations, including executives and accountants.
Embezzlement means theft of property, assets, cash, checks and other financial material that was entrusted to a person. The fact that the property stolen was actually in a person’s safekeeping or trust is a key factor in determining whether embezzlement charges can be filed against someone. For instance, an accountant may be in a position of trust with funds, but may be charged with embezzlement if he uses some of these funds for his own personal uses.
The New Jersey criminal defense lawyers at Helmer Paul Conley and Kassselman represent persons charged with drug crimes, sex crimes, fraud, assault, DUI and other crimes across the state of New Jersey.
