Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi and acting Moorestown Police Chief Lee Lieber announced that a Voorhees couple has been charged with stealing more than $322,000 in audiovisual equipment from their Moorestown-based employer and selling it through an online auction site.
A male, age 42, and a female, age 59, both of Sandpiper Drive in Voorhees, were charged with theft by deception (second degree), computer criminal activity (second degree) and conspiracy to commit theft by deception (second degree).
They were taken into custody Dec. 21 at the Moorestown Police Department and released after posting $50,000 full bail each.
The 18-month investigation began when officials from the Moorestown-based company where they both were employed noticed that paperwork concerning an equipment purchase had been manipulated to conceal the theft of the item. The company sells and rents audiovisual, lighting and other equipment, and also provides live event production and other services related to the entertainment and special events industry.
The company discovered that items from its own inventory and items that were ordered for customers were being sold through an online auction site. The items were sold at a discounted price equal to about half of their value. The company employed the male as an audiovisual inventory control manager and his wife, the female, was the general manager.
Further investigation revealed that the defendants had been modifying documents for approximately eight years to avoid detection of the thefts. The defendants conducted 107 online auctions for stolen equipment between 2006 and 2014. The total value of the items stolen from the company was $322,968.
The case will now be referred to a Burlington County Grand Jury for possible indictment. The investigation was conducted by the Moorestown Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit.
