By: Najla Alexander
NJ authorities announced that a Mercer County man and a Bucks County, Pennsylvania man admitted participating in a conspiracy to obtain overtime payments from the city of Trenton for work they did not perform by fraudulently inflating the overtime hours they claimed to have worked conducting residential lead inspections.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger stated that Michael Ingram, 71, of Trenton, and William Kreiss, 40, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to information charging them with one count of conspiracy to embezzle, steal, and obtain by fraud more than $5,000 in funds from the city of Trenton.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Authorities say the Trenton’s Department of Health and Human Services (Trenton HHS) was required to provide services to identify lead sources in homes in Trenton where children had tested positive for elevated levels of lead in their blood.
Beginning in approximately 2018, officials said, a New Jersey State grant-funded inspection of Trenton properties identified children with elevated blood lead levels.
Trenton’s Bureau of Environmental Health (BEH), a subdivision of Trenton HHS, was responsible for performing these residential lead inspections, officials say.
According to officials, Ingram, a public health investigator for BEH, and Kreiss, a registered environmental specialist for BEH, conducted residential lead inspections with other members of BEH from February 2018 through May 2022.
Officials said the BEH employee to whom Ingram and Kreiss reported began directing them to bill overtime hours for work they did not perform.
Ingram and Kreiss submitted their fraudulent and inflated overtime claims to this BEH employee, who then authorized overtime payments to each of them, officials say.
Authorities say Ingram and Kreiss each admitted submitting claims for overtime work as directed by the BEH employee, including for work they had not performed.
Officials stated the two defendants also admitted they had inflated claims for overtime hours worked in connection with a meal delivery program administered by the city.
Through this fraudulent overtime scheme, Ingram admitted he received $22,144 in overtime payments to which he was not entitled, while Kreiss separately admitted he received $32,806 in overtime payments to which he was not entitled, officials said.
According to officials, Ingram and Kreiss each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for April 24, 2024, officials say.