September 9, 2011
Office of The Attorney General
– Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
– Stephen J. Taylor, Director
Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925
Former Office Manager at New Jersey City University Sentenced to Prison for Theft of $486,000 from Student Government Organization
TRENTON – Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that a former office manager at New Jersey City University in Jersey City was sentenced to state prison today for helping her husband steal $486,578 from the university’s Student Government Organization.
According to Director Taylor, Shaunette P. Ruffin-Moody, 49, of Jersey City, was sentenced to three years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Lourdes I. Santiago in Hudson County. Ruffin-Moody pleaded guilty on July 25 to a charge of forgery, admitting that she assisted her husband in the thefts. She will be permanently barred from public employment. The Division of Criminal Justice obtained a state grand jury indictment on Dec. 1, 2010 charging Ruffin-Moody and her husband, Alex A. Moody, 52. Alex Moody pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced on May 3 to six years in prison by Judge Santiago. The couple must pay full restitution of $486,578.
The state sentences will run concurrently with federal sentences imposed on the couple on April 26 based on their guilty pleas to charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Ruffin-Moody was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, and Moody was sentenced to six years in federal prison.
Deputy Attorney General Perry Primavera prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau and represented the state at the sentencing. The state charges stem from an investigation by Detective Sgt. Geoffrey P. Forker, Detective Mario DiRienzo, and the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption North Unit. The New Jersey State Police arrested the couple on state charges in late August 2010. They were subsequently charged by federal authorities.
Ruffin-Moody was office manager for the Student Government Organization (SGO) at New Jersey City University. The SGO is a non-profit organization funded by student activity fees. As part of her duties, Ruffin-Moody filled out payment vouchers to have SGO checks issued. The vouchers and checks had to be validated and signed by other university officials.
The State Police investigation revealed that from May 7, 2007 to July 8, 2010, Ruffin-Moody issued 247 unauthorized checks totaling about $486,578 from the SGO checking account made payable to herself, her husband or others. The defendants forged the signature of the school’s associate dean of students on most of the checks. The unauthorized checks were discovered in July 2010, after several SGO checks bounced and Ruffin-Moody reported that the SGO had exceeded its budget. She was suspended without pay after the suspicious checks were identified.
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