Suzanne Eyman admitted stealing $296,216 from the state Division of Developmental Disabilities.
Suzanne Eyman. TRENTON -- A bookkeeper for a state agency that provides services to the developmentally disabled has admitted stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a decade, authorities said.
Suzanne Eyman, 44, pleaded guilty Thursday to a single charge of second-degree theft by deception, according to the state Attorney General's Office.
Eyman, of Bordentown, admitted using her position at the state Division of Developmental Disabilities to steal $296,216 by submitting phony bills for services to needy clients and having the money paid to accounts she controlled, state prosecutors said.
Authorities say Eyman was in charge of collecting invoices and other payment information from vendors hired by the division, part of the state Department of Human Services, to provide care to the developmentally disabled.
Bookkeeper charged in phony bill scheme
She was charged in January along with her husband, Stephen Muller, who also controlled some of the bank accounts used in the scheme. A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said Thursday that the state had dropped the charges against Muller.
Under a plea deal, Eyman is facing five years in state prison and will pay full restitution of $296,216.
"It's outrageous that a public employee responsible for disbursing funds for the care and assistance of people with disabilities and their families would instead corruptly steal those funds for her own enrichment," state Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in a statement. "She callously betrayed the vulnerable population she was supposed to serve as well as the trust placed in her as a public servant."
An attorney for Eyman could not be reached Thursday.
Eyman appeared before Superior Court Judge Peter E. Warshaw in Mercer County.
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