December 14, 2010
Office of The Attorney General
– Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
– Stephen J. Taylor, Director
Media Inquiries-
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925
Former Paterson School District Employee Charged With Allegedly Stealing More Than $102,000 from District
TRENTON – Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that the a former Paterson school district employee was indicted yesterday for allegedly stealing more than $102,000 by hiring her own company to do work for the Paterson school district, an Abbott school district, and then fraudulently overbilling the district.
According to Director Taylor, Anna Taliaferro, 73, formerly of Paterson and currently of Virginia Beach, Virginia, was indicted yesterday on charges of official misconduct, pattern of official misconduct, theft by deception and misconduct by corporate official (all second degree), as well as two counts of third-degree tampering with public records or information and one count of third-degree forgery.
Taliaferro was the District-Wide Coordinator of the Paterson Resource Center before she retired in 2008. She was also the president of the non-profit corporation New Jersey Association of Parent Coordinators (NJAPC).
The indictment alleges that between February 2003 and April 2007, Taliaferro falsified records, making false statements on one or more annual school ethics commission financial disclosure statements and/or school ethics commission personal/relative disclosure statements. It is alleged that Taliaferro falsely claimed that she held no interest in any business organization, and was not a principal of any organization that contracted with the Paterson Board of Education, even though NJAPC did business with the Paterson school district. As part of her job as the District-Wide Coordinator of the Paterson Resource Center, Taliaferro was tasked with participating and becoming involved in annual conferences for Paterson parents, which focused on becoming better parents. It is charged that, in reality, Taliaferro “outsourced” her participation in the conferences to NJAPC. It is alleged that Taliaferro created the false impression that NJAPC was an independent business entity. Moreover, it is alleged that NJAPC received credits from hotels where the conferences were held and never reimbursed Paterson school district for those funds. In addition, Taliaferro allegedly used school district employees and equipment for NJAPC business. Between February 2003 and July 2007, Taliaferro allegedly stole $102,226.81 from the Paterson School District by creating false impressions on one or more fraudulent invoices submitted to the school district by the NJAPC.
The indictment further alleges that between June and July 2007, Taliaferro deposited a check from NJAPC for $25,000 that she knew had been forged.
The investigation was coordinated by Sergeants Warren Monroe, James Scott, and Thomas Culp, Detective Robyn Greene, Analyst Kathleen Ratliff and Deputy Attorney General Richard Queen. Queen presented the case to the state grand jury. The investigation began when the Department of Education referred the matter to the Division of Criminal Justice.
Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a $150,000 fine, while third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $15,000 fine. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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