MORRISTOWN, NJ (Morris County) – A Mount Olive Township man was indicted Wednesday on various insurance fraud and tax related charges, according to Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp.
Afamefuna Nwandu, 33, was indicted on two counts of third-degree theft, one count of third-degree forgery, one count of third-degree forgery-uttering, one count of third-degree failure to pay taxes, three counts of third-degree filing fraudulent tax returns, and one count of third-degree preparation of fraudulent tax return.
Nwandu was employed as a financial adviser by Morgan Stanley in New York City from July 1, 2016 to September 25, 2016. On March 12, 2017, he allegedly applied for New Jersey unemployment benefits using the online application where he submitted altered pay stubs in support of his claim for benefits, Knapp said.
It’s alleged that from March 2017 to September 2017, Nwandu fraudulently collected $17,602.00 in unemployment benefits from the State of New Jersey. On May 20, 2018, he reapplied for New Jersey unemployment benefits from May 2018 to June 2018 where he also fraudulently received $2,043 in benefits, Knapp said.
During an unemployment hearing for this claim with the New Jersey Department of Labor, it’s alleged Nwandu falsely testified about the location of his employment with Morgan Stanley and provided additional misleading statements and fraudulent documents to the State of New Jersey Department of Labor in support of his claim for benefits, Knapp said.
Nwandu was originally charged on January 16, 2019, on the insurance fraud related charges and was subsequently charged on May 31, 2019 with the tax related charges.
Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Specialized Crimes, Fraud Unit; New York Department of Labor and New Jersey Department of Labor whose efforts contributed to the investigation of this case.
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By: Jay Edwards Follow on Twitter | Like on Facebook
