Lissette Delarosa, Mail Fraud, New Jersey 2016

TRENTON, N.J. – A former employee of a Bergen County, New Jersey, watch manufacturer has been caught using a phony documents and corporate records scheme to defraud her employer out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of watches and watch parts.

Lissette Delarosa, 37, of Woodland Park, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to an information charging her with one count of mail fraud conspiracy.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Delarosa admitted that from May 2003 through July 2010, she and Cynthia Alvarez, a/k/a “Cynthia Espejo,” 50, of Kissimmee, Florida, abused their positions in the watch manufacturer’s Bergen County customer service department to fraudulently obtain merchandise.

Alvarez and Delarosa created hundreds of fictitious invoices, records, and customer complaints for watches and watch parts in their employer’s invoicing system and directed the merchandise to be sent to addresses they controlled. The watch manufacturer received no payment related to these invoices and no legitimate basis existed for providing the parts free of charge.

The mail fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the amount of loss caused by the offense. Delarosa’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16, 2016.

Alvarez pleaded guilty to the same offense on Sept. 8, 2015 and awaits sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman credited postal inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Cynthia Shoffner, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Svetlana M. Eisenberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark. Defense counsel for Delarosa is Alan D. Bowman, Esq., of Newark, New Jersey.

Delarosa, who is currently free on bail, is expected to face serious consequences for her actions, including a possible 20-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.

The case serves as a reminder that the consequences of white-collar crime can be severe and far-reaching, and that those who engage in such behavior can face serious repercussions.

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