Jonathan Garelick Chief of Staff | New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety
Jonathan Garelick Chief of Staff | New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced the sentencing of John Dunlea, a former chief financial officer of a Morristown-based national law firm, for embezzling over $1.5 million from the firm and evading state income taxes.
Dunlea, 61, of Westfield, New Jersey, was sentenced to five years in state prison by New Jersey Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Taylor at the Morris County Courthouse in Morristown on July 26, 2024. He was also ordered to pay more than $1.5 million to McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP—the firm where he was previously employed—and over $20,000 to the State as restitution.
On May 8, 2024, Dunlea pleaded guilty to two counts of theft by deception (2nd degree) and five counts of failure to pay taxes (3rd degree). He admitted to misappropriating $1,538,221 from the law firm by paying himself unauthorized excess compensation between January 2017 and December 2022. This included $1,182,965 in unauthorized compensation and approximately $355,256 in personal credit card charges for international and domestic flights, hotels, and restaurant outings for himself and his family. Additionally, Dunlea admitted to evading $22,568 in state income tax for the tax years 2018 through 2022.
“The defendant admitted to giving himself a staggering, unauthorized, and illegal seven-figure pay raise and treating himself and his family at his employer’s expense,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Today’s sentence demonstrates the Division of Criminal Justice’s firm commitment to holding individuals accountable who exploit positions of trust to commit financial fraud.”
Legal Chief Pablo Quiñones of the Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions stated: “The defendant misused his position of power and trust to take advantage of his employer and the taxpayers of New Jersey. This sentence underscores our commitment to ensuring that those who turn to deception and cheating to improperly enrich themselves will be held accountable.”
Deputy Attorney General Michael Burke prosecuted the case under the supervision of Deputy Chief Adam Heck and Deputy Legal Chief Brendan Stewart.
Defense attorneys Ricardo Solano Jr. and Danielle N. Craft from Gibbons P.C. represented Dunlea.
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