[Update: This case was ordered expunged by Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen on June 6, 2019.]
Bookkeeper Rebecca Cirillo was sentenced to five years in state prison last Friday for ripping off a Red Bank business of more than $400,000, the Monmouth County Prosecutor‘s office announced Friday.
The 34-year-old Atlantic Highlands resident was also ordered by a Superior Court judge in Freehold to reimburse the publishing and advertising firm Ansorge Unlimited to the tune of $291,000.
Here’s the announcement:
On January 14, 2011, Rebecca Cirillo, 34, of Atlantic Highlands, N.J. was sentenced to a
five year State Prison term on one count of second degree Theft by Deception and three counts of third degree Filing a False Tax Return. In addition, Cirillo was ordered to pay restitution to Ansorge Unlimited, Inc., of Red Bank, N.J., and to CNA Insurance Company in an aggregate amount of $290,949.12. Finally, Cirillo was ordered to file amended tax returns with the New Jersey Department of Taxation. The amended tax returns will reflect the additional income Cirillo received as a result of the theft by deception.
The sentence was imposed by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard W. English. Cirillo previously entered a guilty plea to the charges before Judge English on September 23, 2010.
This matter was investigated by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation began in May 2008 when the owner of Ansorge Unlimited, Inc., reported an apparent internal theft. The ensuing investigation revealed that between July 2005 and November 2007, hundreds of thousands of dollars had been illegally diverted from an Ansorge Unlimited, Inc., bank account. The investigation also revealed that Cirillo, a bookkeeper
employed by Ansorge Unlimited, Inc., during those years, had written hundreds of checks to
herself from the Ansorge Unlimited, Inc., bank account. Cirillo was hired as a part-time
bookkeeper in July 2005, and the investigation disclosed that she immediately began utilizing the company’s accounting system to unlawfully access funds. After Cirillo was fired in November 2007, Ansorge Unlimited, Inc., initiated an internal audit of its financial records. The audit resulted in the discovery of the theft.
A financial audit which was conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office
revealed that Cirillo issued 325 company checks in her married and/or maiden name, or to
cash. The total value of the funds obtained by Cirillo in this fashion was approximately
$573,868.94. After consultation with the victim, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office reached the negotiated plea agreement in this matter which included restitution in the amount of $290,949.12 to be made in the form of a civil judgment.
The New Jersey Division of Taxation, Office of Criminal Investigation, also conducted an investigation into Cirillo’s activities. Their investigation revealed that Cirillo willfully failed to pay the required State income tax for 2005, 2006 and 2007. Consistent with the terms of Cirillo’s plea agreement, Judge English ordered Cirillo to file amended tax returns for those years.
This case is assigned to Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Nicole Colucci. Cirillo is represented by Vincent Sarubbi, Esquire, of Haddonfield, N.J.
Released: January 14, 2011
