GENERAL FOREMAN AT PORT ELIZABETH CONVICTED OF SALARY FRAUD

NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and general foreman for a Port Elizabeth terminal operator was convicted at trial today for fraudulently collecting a nearly $500,000 annual salary, much of which was for work he never performed, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Paul Moe Sr., 66, of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, was convicted on all 14 counts of an indictment charging him with one count of wire fraud conspiracy and 13 substantive counts of wire fraud. He was convicted following a 10-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court. The jury deliberated for two hours before returning its verdict.

According to statements made in court and the evidence at trial:

From September 2015 through March 2017, Moe fraudulently collected a compensation package that paid him almost $500,000 annually while showing up at his job site for as little as eight hours per week. In order for Moe to collect his $9,300 weekly paycheck, other conspirators submitted false timesheets each day on his behalf and even credited him for up to 16 hours of overtime a day. The 13 substantive wire fraud counts consist of one-week increments in which Moe – having either failed to appear at the job site or while being out of state or out of the country – was paid as if he had been on the job for a minimum of 40 hours a week.

Each count is punishable by up to twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents and investigators with the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, under the direction of Executive Director Walter M. Arsenault; the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Mikulka in New York; the Office of Employee Benefit Security Act (EBSA), under the direction of Regional Director Jonathan Kay; and the Office of Labor Management Standards, under the supervision of District Director Andriana Vamvakas, with the investigation.

The government was represented by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O’Malley, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Moscato, Chief of the National Security Unit, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew.

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Defense counsel: Gerald McMahon Esq., New York