Bergen County Woman Admits Embezzling Money From Guided Tour Company and Subscribing to False Tax Returns

NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, woman today admitted participating in a multi-year embezzlement scheme and subscribing to a false personal income tax return, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Estela Laluf, 76, of River Edge, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals to an information charging her with one count of wire fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between October 2010 and August 2016, Laluf held a management position at a New Jersey guided-tour company. During that time, Laluf and another employee, who held an accounting position at the company and had authority to write checks against the company’s bank accounts, devised a scheme to embezzle funds from the company. Laluf would direct the employee to write company checks to actual company employees and contractors, which did not reflect any actual work or services done by those individuals. The employee would then cash these checks, and Laluf and the employee would convert the resulting funds to their personal use.  Laluf and the employee embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company. Laluf then fraudulently omitted the proceeds of the embezzlement scheme from her tax year 2016 tax return.

The charge of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of subscribing to a false tax return carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 24, 2022.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero, and special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Trombly of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

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