Former law firm CFO of Morris County law firm charged with defrauding firm of more than $1.5M and tax evasion
TRENTON, NJ — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) Thursday announced that John Dunlea, the former Chief Financial Officer of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP (the “McElroy Law Firm”), a national law firm based in Morristown, has been charged with embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm and evading payment of income tax owed to the State of New Jersey.
Dunlea, 61, of Westfield was charged by criminal complaint with two counts of second-degree theft by deception and five counts of third-degree failure to pay tax in connection with the alleged fraud.
It is alleged that between 2017 and 2022, Dunlea misappropriated funds from the McElroy Law Firm by paying himself unauthorized compensation totaling $1,182,965.
Furthermore, it is alleged that he had the law firm pay credit card expenses totaling $355,256, claiming they were business expenses, when, in fact, they were personal expenses, including for international and domestic airline flights, hotels, and restaurants for himself and his family. Additionally, it is alleged that Dunlea evaded paying State income tax during tax years 2018 to 2022 for income derived from the credit card scheme.
“As alleged, this case reinforces our commitment to ensuring that fraud and tax cheating does not go unpunished in New Jersey,” Platkin said. “We will vigorously investigate and prosecute fraudulent schemes such as this to hold accountable people who would steal from New Jersey businesses and evade taxes owed to the State.”
“Dunlea was a trusted, high-level executive at a national law firm, and he allegedly abused that trust for years by stealing more than $1.5 million from his employer,” said Legal Chief Pablo Quiñones. “This investigation and prosecution should place potential white-collar fraudsters on notice that our office will seek to hold them accountable for taking advantage of businesses that call New Jersey home.”
The second-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to ten years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
