NEWARK, N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, woman was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for orchestrating a $1.7 million bank fraud scheme that involved writing fraudulent business checks, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Tammy L. Martinez, 49, of South Amboy, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to an information charging her with one count of bank fraud. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today by videoconference.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From January 2014 through March 2019, Martinez served as an office manager and bookkeeper for a New Jersey based company. Beginning in January 2014, Martinez used her position at the company to issue fraudulent checks made payable to herself or cash and forged the signature of her manager on the fraudulent company checks. Martinez converted the fraudulent company checks into cash at bank branches in New Jersey. The scheme allowed Martinez to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for more than half a decade, resulting in approximately $1.78 million in losses.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Martinez to five years of supervised release and ordered her to pay restitution of $1.78 million.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney in Newark, and the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamel Semper, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crimes and Gangs Unit.
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