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6 charged with theft from N.J. fuel program

A local administrator of the New Jersey Home Energy Assistance Program was indicted yesterday, along with five family members, on charges of stealing $24,086 from the program, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

A local administrator of the New Jersey Home Energy Assistance Program was indicted yesterday, along with five family members, on charges of stealing $24,086 from the program, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

In a related case, the owner of a Paulsboro-based heating-oil company pleaded guilty last week to defrauding the program by accepting government funding without providing fuel.

Officials said Constance Campbell, 23, of Chester, used her position as a project manager for Tri-County Community Action to process false applications for herself, three sisters, and a brother and sister-in-law between January 2007 and June 2009. Tri-Community Action is a nonprofit contracted by the state to administer the program in Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties.

Family members allegedly received a total of $24,086 in benefits for which they were not eligible, including $15,012 intended for heating-oil purchases. They allegedly traded the checks for cash from a local fuel supplier.

That supplier, Thomas J. Harris, 66, of Woolwich, owner of Harris Fuel Oil, pleaded guilty Aug. 10 in Gloucester County to money laundering and related offenses. Officials alleged that he bought the state-issued checks below face value, providing the recipients with money instead of fuel. Sentencing is scheduled for November.

Indicted with Campbell were her three sisters - Denise, 35, of Penns Grove; Patsy, 29, of Chester; and Priscilla, 21, of Paulsboro - and her brother, Dennis, 37, and his wife, Hollyann Allen, 37, of Philadelphia.