Scotch Plains Officer Manager Embezzled $350K From Synagogue, Feds Say

In 2010, Stacy Margaritondo began working at Congregation Beth Israel in Scotch Plains and was later promoted to bookkeeper and office manager in July 2020, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said.

Margaritondo’s duties included accounting/bookkeeping, payroll, preparing checks for accounts payable, and reporting to the synagogue’s board of directors regarding the synagogue’s financial condition, Sellinger said.

From Dec. 2019 to May 2023, Margaritondo routinely issued unauthorized checks made payable to herself drawn on the synagogue’s bank accounts; obtained unauthorized additional funds to conceal the embezzlement scheme by fraudulently using the synagogue’s name, bank statements, and balance sheet to obtain short-term financing from cash advance companies; and intentionally kept inaccurate accounting records and altered bank statements that she provided to the board of directors to conceal her scheme, Sellinger said.

She was charged with one count of wire fraud, Sellinger said.

Ryan Teicher, the immediate past president of Congregation Beth Israel said in a letter to congregants that Margaritondo was someone very close to the community.

This "has been very difficult to accept," Teicher said. "We have been cooperating with the investigation for the past year and are grateful that justice is being pursued. We are a resilient, united kehila, and we stand together stronger today than we were before."

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