Former Assistant Dean and Two Other Former Employees of Essex County Graduate School Admit Million-Dollar Embezzlement

NEWARK, N.J. - A former assistant dean and two other former employees of an Essex County graduate school pleaded guilty to defrauding their former employer of more than $1.3 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Teresina DeAlmeida, 59, of Warren, New Jersey and Rose Martins, 44, of East Hanover, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud conspiracy, before U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in Newark federal court. Silvia Cardoso, 61, of Warren, pleaded guilty to the same charge on July 25, 2024, before Judge Neals.

"Through an elaborate, years-long embezzlement scheme, these defendants violated their obligation to the students and exploited their role at this institution of higher learning to line their own pockets. Through forgery, fraudulent invoices, unauthorized transactions and phony shell companies, they stole money intended to benefit the school and its student body and abused their positions. These arrests are yet another example of this office's commitment to holding accountable those who commit financial fraud."

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

"As employees of a higher learning institution, the defendants in this investigation had an obligation to act in the best interest of the students they served, but instead they prioritized enriching themselves," Jenifer L. Piovesan, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, said. "IRS Criminal Investigation is dedicated to investigating individuals who commit financial crimes and fostering confidence in the legal system."

"The genesis of most fraud schemes happens when people have access to money, they believe they are entitled to, and no one will notice it's gone," FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. "However, these three subjects fell into the same trap other criminals do - the money wasn't theirs, and the Essex County graduate school went in search of the missing $1.3 million. FBI Newark and our law enforcement partners who worked on this investigation excel at following the paper trail and evidence left behind by almost every fraudster."

"Today's action shows that these individuals knowingly and willfully abused their positions for personal gain and will now be held accountable for their criminal actions," Andrew Balceniuk, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Eastern Regional Office, said. "The OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who misappropriate Federal education funds for their own selfish purposes."

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between 2009 and July 2022, DeAlmeida, Martins, and Cardoso conspired to fraudulently misappropriate more than $1.3 million from their former employer, a graduate school of a university in Essex County, New Jersey. DeAlmeida was an assistant dean responsible for financial functions, and Martins served as her assistant. Cardoso, DeAlmeida's sister, was also employed by the graduate school in a support staff role.

The defendants used a variety of methods to defraud the university:

• Beginning in 2009, DeAlmeida directed a graduate school vendor to pay Martins and Cardoso as though they worked for the vendor, even though they did not perform any services. DeAlmeida and Martins then caused the vendor to submit false invoices to the graduate school over the course of approximately four years in order to reimburse the vendor for the amounts fraudulently paid to Martins and Cardoso.

• From 2010 through 2022, DeAlmeida and Martins directed graduate school vendors to order hundreds of thousands of dollars of gift cards and prepaid debit cards the conspirators used for their personal benefit, and then to submit fraudulent invoices to the school purporting to be for goods and services that were never provided. The conspirators also misused DeAlmeida's school-issued credit card to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars of gift cards and prepaid debit cards from the school's bookstore. DeAlmeida routinely fraudulently approved these charges and Martins forged the signatures of other employees on internal approvals.

• In 2015, Martins opened a shell entity called CMS Content Management Specialist LLC. Although CMS never rendered any services to the graduate school, Martins submitted, and DeAlmeida approved, fraudulent invoices totaling more than $208,000.

• The conspirators also used DeAlmeida's school-issued credit card to make tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized personal purchases. DeAlmeida and Martins used the card to make over $70,000 in purchases at an online retailer shipped directly to their homes, including woman's shoes, smart watches, and bed linens. DeAlmeida and Martins fraudulently altered certain receipts before submitting them to the school for payment.

The wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine equal to the greater of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing for Cardoso is scheduled for Nov. 26, 2024; for DeAlmeida, Dec. 2, 2024; and for Martins, Dec. 3, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark; and special agents of the Department of Education Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Balceniuk, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Silane of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.