08-25-04 -- Gerber et. al. -- Guilty Plea -- News Release

Two Naval Air Warfare Center Employees and Toms River Businessman Admit Defrauding Navy

TRENTON - A former ordering officer employed at the Naval Air Warfare Center in Lakehurst admitted today to conspiring with a fellow employee and the owner of a Toms River shipping company in an elaborate false invoicing scheme that netted them more than $100,000 in cash and luxury items, all paid for by the Navy, U S Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Patricia Gerber, Steven Citron and Ralph W. Freitas pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr. to a one-count Information alleging that they conspired to embezzle $106,579.59 by charging luxury items to a government credit card issued to Gerber and by submitting bogus invoices through Freitas' company.

Gerber, 35, formerly of Browns Mills and now of Marlton, admitted that between March 1998 and September 1999 she used a government credit card to purchase numerous items for her personal use, including tools, boating and fishing equipment, computers, home entertainment systems, over $17,000 in Home Depot gift certificates and landscaping material, including several artificial palm trees costing over $4,000. Citron, 43, of Whiting, who was also employed at Lakehurst, admitted that he introduced Gerber to his father-in-law, Freitas, 67, of Manchester, who owned The Shipping Room on Washington Street in Toms River. Freitas allowed Gerber to ship some of the items to his business.

All three defendants also described a false invoicing scheme where Gerber would provide Freitas with a government purchase order number and credit card number and instruct him to charge a certain amount to her government credit card. Gerber would then instruct Freitas to fabricate an invoice purporting to show that his company provided goods to NAWC. Freitas would then draw a check payable to Citron in the approximate amount of the invoice which was then cashed by Citron and split with Gerber.

The defendants were released on personal recognizance bonds of $50,000. For their pleas to conspiracy to defraud the United States, they each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Judge Brown scheduled sentencing for Nov. 29 for all of the defendants.

Christie credited Capt. Mark L. Bathrick, Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Engineering Station at Lakehurst, and Special Agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Supervisory Special Agent John Sorrell, with developing the case against the three defendants.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Guadagno, of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Trenton.

-end-

Defense Counsel:

Gerber: Francis J. Hartman, Esq. Moorestown

Citron: Theodore Housel, Esq. Mays Landing

Freitas: John E. Hogan, Esq. Woodbridge