Former Office Manager to Get 7 Years in Theft of Over $400K from NJ Law Firm
A former office manager of a northern New Jersey law firm has agreed to a plea bargain that includes a seven-year prison sentence for her admitted theft of over $400,000 from Maloof Lebowitz Connahan & Oleske between 2003 and 2010.
Beth Friedland, 39, is expected to actually serve only a fraction of the seven years, however. She and her husband, Alex Cruz, 40, who never worked at the firm but also admitted to the crime and will get probation, must pay a total of $448,721 in restitution, reports the Star-Ledger.
A civil suit by the firm seeking over $1 million that the couple allegedly stole is proceeding in Morristown. But assistant Morris County prosecutor Peter Foy said the government accepted substantially less for restitution purposes “in the interest of resolving these cases.”
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Ex-Office Manager Accused of Stealing $1.1M from Law Firm, Spending on Vintage Car”
