TRENTON — A Mercer County woman has been sentenced for stealing more than $268,000 in survivor benefits from her deceased husband’s pension, a fraud she continued for nearly a decade after remarrying and becoming ineligible for the payments.
Sandra VonScheven, 49, of Hamilton, New Jersey, was ordered on Thursday by state Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Hughes to repay the full amount to the New Jersey Division of Pension and Benefits. Judge Hughes, who presided over the case in Mercer County Superior Court, also sentenced VonScheven to a term of probation with a condition of 364 days in county jail. The jail term was suspended, contingent on her successful completion of probation.
VonScheven was indicted by a state grand jury in January 2021 following an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) Corruption Bureau and the Pension Fraud and Abuse Unit of the State Treasury’s Division of Pensions and Benefits. The defendant entered a plea agreement with the Attorney General’s Office in June 2024.
“This sentence should serve as a warning that we will not allow individuals to enrich themselves at the expense of New Jersey taxpayers and public servants,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin in a statement. “This crime went on for nearly a decade, but it was ultimately detected and the defendant held responsible.”
Drew Skinner, Executive Director of OPIA, emphasized the breach of trust involved in the case. “For years the defendant unlawfully collected taxpayer funds she knew she should no longer be getting, instead of doing the right thing and informing the State that she had remarried,” Skinner said. “As a result of this case, the defendant will be held to account and to repay her ill-gotten gains.”