Stacy Margaritondo, 51, allegedly embezzled more than $350,000 from a synagogue in Union County, N.J., the U.S. Justice Department said last week without revealing the name of the religious institution.
The defendant allegedly stole the funds between December 2019 and March 2023, during which she had been promoted to the synagogue’s office manager and bookkeeper. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, “or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.”
The Justice Department detailed that “Margaritondo routinely issued unauthorized checks made payable to herself drawn on the synagogue’s bank accounts; obtained unauthorized additional funds to conceal the embezzlement scheme by fraudulently using the synagogue’s name, bank statements and balance sheet to obtain short-term financing from cash advance companies; and intentionally kept inaccurate accounting records and altered bank statements that she provided to the board of directors to conceal her scheme.”