Grand jury indicts area man on multiple charges

A Monmouth County Grand Jury returned three indictments on June 4 charging multiple counts of financial fraud against Mark A. Vernaglia, 44, of Colts Neck.

According to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, the first indictment charges Vernaglia with second-degree misapplication of entrusted property, two counts of second-degree theft by deception, third degree issuing a false financial statement, fourth-degree deceptive business practices, and fourth-degree forgery.

These charges stem from an investigation commenced by the prosecutor's office in early December 2006 after Vernaglia's business partners reported that he had stolen money from their business, Team Edge, L.L.C.

Team Edge, L.L.C., is an athletic training facility on Hope Road in Eatontown. The investigation revealed that between February 2006 through November 2006, Vernaglia alledgedly stole more than $750,000 from the business, according to the press release. The investigation also revealed that Vernaglia fraudulently opened a $1.5 million line of credit for Team Edge, L.L.C., at Sun National Bank without his partners' knowledge by forging their names on the promissory note. Vernaglia then withdrew money from the line of credit for his own personal use, the prosecutor said.

The second indictment charges Vernaglia with second degree misapplication of entrusted property and second degree theft by deception. The investigation revealed that between June 2003 and November 2006, while serving as treasurer of the Colts Neck Education Foundation, Vernaglia stole more than $147,000 from the foundation. The foundation is a private organization that raises money in an effort to enhance the quality of education in Colts Neck schools. Vernaglia served as treasurer of the fund for four years.

The third indictment charges Vernaglia with second degree receiving stolen property. From 2001 until 2005, Vernaglia was employed as the president of Reserve Solutions, a financial services company in New York, N.Y.

The investigation revealed that during that period of time, Vernaglia used his control over the company's assets to illegally divert more than $400,000 of company funds for his own personal use, paying himself excess wages and incurring thousands of dollars in personal expenses. Among the expenses Vernaglia paid for with stolen funds were personal credit card bills, and landscaping and interior design fees for his home in Colts Neck, according to the press release.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said, "Vernaglia not only breached the fiduciary responsibility that he owed to his employer and business partners, but he violated the trust of his friends and neighbors in the community of Colts Neck by stealing from a fund set up to benefit the school children of that community. The breadth of the conduct alleged in these indictments is substantial."

Each second degree charge carries a maximum potential state prison sentence of 10 years. The third degree charge carries a maximum state prison sentence of five years. The fourth degree charges carry a maximum state prison sentence of 18 months.