Ex-Wife illegally diverted Toms River Grammy Award Winner’s royalty checks into her own account

Jessica Woods

TOMS RIVER, NJ – Manuel Seal is a Grammy Award Winning songwriter and producer who has worked with the superstar entertainers such as Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Usher, Aretha Franklin and Destiny’s Child, but lately, saw his royalty checks a bit on the light side.  That’s because according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, his ex-wife Erin was diverting those checks into her own bank account.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Erin Seal, 35, of Lindenwold, New Jersey, has been charged with Theft in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3a.

An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crimes Unit revealed that Erin Seal devised a scheme to have music royalty checks made payable to her estranged husband, Manuel Seal, 60, formerly of Toms River, for his work as a Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer, forwarded directly to her and for her benefit. Erin Seal utilized a family member to cash those checks under the guise that she was lawfully entitled to them and relied upon fake emails purportedly sent by the victim to the defendant to support her criminal scheme. During the time period spanning May 2018 through April 2020, Erin Seal fraudulently received approximately $100,000.

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On December 2, 2020, Seal, accompanied by her attorney, surrendered herself to Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crimes Unit. She was processed, and released on a summons pending a future court date.


Prosecutor Billhimer would like to commend the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crimes Unit and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office for their collaborative assistance in connection with this investigation leading to this theft charge.


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