N.J. Businessman Sentenced in Surety Bond Theft

New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Director Vaughn McKoy announced that a Morris County businessman has been ordered to pay more than $9,100 in restitution for stealing a $6,000 surety bond that was required to insure a Bernards Township public park construction project.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden-Brown, William Tompkins, 49, of Landing, Morris County, was ordered by Essex County Superior Court Judge Joseph Isabella on Nov. 8 to pay more than $9,140 and to serve two years probation after pleading guilty to an Essex County Grand Jury indictment returned on March 24.

In pleading guilty on June 15, Tompkins, the owner of DMT Consultants Inc., a surety company with offices in New York City, reportedly admitted that he fraudulently obtained a surety bond which was to provide insurance coverage for Newark-based Monument Contractors Inc. Monument was contracted to build park pavilions in the Harry Dunham Park in Bernards Township, Somerset County. Public construction projects require contractors to post insurance bonds before beginning municipal construction projects.

In order to obtain the insurance bond for Monument, Tompkins fraudulently represented himself as a licensed insurance broker to Global Risk Management Services Inc., a retail surety bond agency licensed in New Jersey.

Tompkins overcharged Monument Contractors for the surety insurance bond, failed to remit the monies to the surety company, and converted the $6,000 payment for personal use.