Tierra Slade, 29, of Mays Landing, N.J., was sentenced to 364 days in jail as a condition of 12 months of probation by Superior Court Judge John R. Rauh in Atlantic County. She pleaded guilty on Dec. 14 to a third-degree charge of theft by unlawful taking. She was ordered to pay full restitution of $3,559.
Deputy Attorney General Valerie Butler prosecuted Slade, and Deputy Attorney General Peter Lee, who is Deputy Bureau Chief, handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. The case was investigated by the Hamilton Police Department in Atlantic County and the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau South Squad.
The joint investigation revealed that Slade used her position as a case worker to steal the identity of a woman who was a client of the Rutgers University Southern Regional Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, an agency funded by the State Department of Human Services that promotes quality care and early education of children in South Jersey. Slade used the client’s identity to open a credit card account for a furniture outlet, which she used to purchase $3,559 in furniture. Slade made no payments against the amounts owed on that account. She also used the stolen identity to open lines of credit at a clothing store and a second furniture store, which she did not use, and she made failed attempts to use that identity to open a number of other credit card accounts, including a $20,000 line of credit with a bank.
Slade was terminated from her position as a case worker as a result of the investigation. She is permanently barred from public employment.
Attorney General Porrino commended Deputy Attorney General Butler and the detectives who investigated the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau South Squad. He also commended Officer Joseph Wilsbach and Detective Frank Schalek of the Hamilton Police Department.
Attorney General Porrino and Director Elie Honig noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has established a toll-free tip line 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities confidentially. Additionally, the public can log on to the Division of Criminal Justice webpage at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing.
Defense Attorney for Slade: Assistant Deputy Public Defender Holly Bitters
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