Former administrator in New Jersey district ordered to repay $137,000 in overtime fraud

The former director of buildings and grounds for the Hillsborough Township (New Jersey) School District has been sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to pay back more than $137,000 he stole through an overtime fraud scheme.

NJ.com reports that Anthony DeLuca, 64, received his sentence in U.S. District Court in Trenton more than three years after he pleaded guilty to embezzlement/theft from a government organization.

DeLuca was ordered to pay $137,057.54 in restitution, court records show.

The federal charges state that DeLuca was promoted in 2019 to director of buildings and grounds at the urging of a co-conspirator who has not been charged. DeLuca, with the help of the co-conspirator, obtained a contract through the school board that paid a flat annual salary of $120,000.

“DeLuca was not entitled to overtime payments as director pursuant to his contract,” prosecutors said.

Even though his contract didn’t allow overtime, DeLuca submitted false overtime claims to the district that were signed by the co-conspirator.

The scheme went on from July 2019 to January 2022, during which time DeLuca paid the co-conspirator around $38,000 in kickbacks, court records show.