MAYS LANDING – Pat L. Christopher, 67, of Hammonton, NJ, was sentenced today to one count of Second-Degree Theft and one count of Third-Degree Tax Evasion. The defendant was a former co-owner of the Christopher Construction Company, LLC. The victims, Dennis and Robert Christopher, were also co-owners of the business and the defendant’s brothers. They still maintain possession and control of Christopher Construction Company, LLC.
An investigation conducted by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Financial Crimes Unit, specifically by Detective Kimberly McColligan, revealed that Christopher, working in his capacity within the business, stole in excess of $1.1 million dollars that belonged to Christopher Construction and its co-owners. Defendant reported that certain transactions were business expenses, when actually he doctored the company business account to pay his own personal credit card expenses without the co-owners’ knowledge. The defendant participated in this fraudulent practice for approximately ten years. Also, a review of the defendant’s tax returns showed that he was not reporting this additional compensation on his 1040 tax form for a period of five years.
Defendant was sentenced to five years of probation and no contact with the victims for his fraudulent conduct. He had to pay restitution to Christopher Construction Company conditioned upon a stock buyback transaction handled civilly between the defendant and the victims. Victim Dennis Christopher spoke at sentencing and addressed the harm that defendant caused to his business as well as their family. Chief Assistant Prosecutor Erika Halayko represented the State in this matter.
Read the full article: Hammonton Man Sentenced on Theft and Tax Evasion.
