Former general counsel gets 18 months for stealing $2.6M from company account
A former in-house counsel for a New Jersey home health care company was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in federal prison for stealing over $2.6 million from his ex-employer and failing to report taxable income to the U.S. government.
Matthew Neugeboren, 39, pleaded guilty in May to wire fraud and tax charges in the Trenton case. He was ordered to repay the company $1.4 million, and owes another $500,000 to the IRS for not paying tax on unreported income. The defendant previously repaid $1.2 million to his ex-employer, Preferred Home Health Care and Nursing Services Inc., according to NJ.com, the New Jersey Law Journal (sub. req.) and the Manalapan Patch.
Federal prosecutors said the defendant stole from a company trust account in which Preferred Home Health Care deposited funds needed for legitimate expenses. In a scheme that took place between 2008 and 2012, Neugeboren called for more money than was needed to be deposited, then siphoned the excess money out for personal use. He was employed by the company from 2006 to 2013.
The government had sought a sentence of 41 months to 51 months. However, U.S. District Judge Mary Little Cooper appeared to find persuasive a defense argument that Neugeboren had sought treatment for what one of his attorneys, Justin Walder of Walder Hayden & Brogan, described as a severe gambling addiction.
Walder also said that his client’s former employer did not want Neugeboren to get a harsh sentence, the New Jersey Law Journal reports.
The attorney said Neugeboren has voluntarily given up his license to practice law, which had been suspended.
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