OCEAN TOWNSHIP— Atownship woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from a homeowners association where she served as property manager.
Theresa Tierney, of Oakhurst, entered a guilty plea Dec. 16 to embezzling more than $400,000 from the Strickland Farms homeowners association in Freehold Township, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw Jr.
The plea was entered before state Superior Court Judge Richard W. English, who is scheduled to sentence Tierney on April 13.
An investigation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office revealed that in 2003 Tierney fraudulently opened a bank account in the name of Strickland Farms, according to a press release from the Prosecutor’s Office. After making herself the sole signatory on the account, Tierney made substantial deposits of condominium association dues that she collected from the Strickland Farms homeowners in her capacity as Strickland Farms property manager. Rather than turning the money over to the Solomon Organization, the management company for Strickland Farms, Tierney converted the funds to her own use, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Tierney’s actions came to light in early 2010 when her diversion of the funds led the Solomon Organization to notify several association members of their delinquency in payment of dues. Many of the affected homeowners complained, claiming that they were current with their payments. The discrepancy led the Solomon Organization to seek the assistance of law enforcement, which resulted in the discovery of the theft of funds and Tierney’s arrest onApril 21. On that date, Tierney was released from the Monmouth County Correctional Institution after posting bail in the amount of $100,000.
Tierney pleaded guilty to second-degree theft by failure to make required disposition of property pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement. Pursuant to the terms of Tierney’s plea agreement, the Prosecutor’s Office will recommend she be sentenced to a state prison term of seven years. The plea agreement also calls for Tierney to make full restitution.