Linden Man Sentenced for Stealing from Paterson MUA and Jersey City CDC
Carnell Baskerville, 51, a self-employed contractor from Linden, New Jersey, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for conspiring to steal from the Paterson Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) and the Jersey City Childhood Development Centers Inc. (JCCDC).
According to court documents, Baskerville conspired with a former commissioner with the Paterson MUA and Robert E. Mays, the former Executive Director of the JCCDC, to fraudulently obtain payments for services he never provided.
Baskerville entered into an agreement with the conspirator, who exercised control over Paterson MUA finances, to approve payments from the Paterson MUA to Baskerville’s company for services rendered, even though both Baskerville and the conspirator knew that Baskerville had not and would not perform those services.
Between December 2014 and May 2015, the conspirator wrote a series of Paterson MUA checks totaling $146,500 to Baskerville’s company. Baskerville deposited these checks in his bank account and kicked back a significant percentage in cash to the conspirator to reward him for his official assistance in carrying out the scheme.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Linares sentenced Baskerville to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $176,175.
Mays pleaded guilty to wire fraud on June 7, 2016, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $257,418.20.
The government credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation.
The defendant, Carnell Baskerville, was represented by Arthur Abrams Esq., Jersey City.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Public Corruption|White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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