TOMS RIVER – A Lakehurst man has admitted to a home improvement contracting scheme targeting township residents, police said.
Robert Cohan, 36, pled guilty to Theft by Deception. At the time of his sentencing on October 27, the State will be seeking a term of eight years in New Jersey State Prison, along with approximately $220,000 in restitution to multiple victims.
According to police, Cohan’s scheme began in February 2022 then continued through May 2022. He specifically approached residents of the Gardens of Pleasant Plains in Toms River.
Cohan would solicit residents to engage his services to perform work on the exterior of their homes. He would then perform little work, while stealing about $200,000 from more than 10 victims in the process.
During that time, he oftentimes fraudulently used the name of his family’s construction company name in the scheme.
Additionally, police discovered that in September 2022, Cohan approached an elderly victim at a bank in Berkeley. Cohan used a false identity and solicited a small amount of money.
In exchange, the victim allowed Cohan to perform a small task on her property in lieu of being paid back. With knowledge of the victim’s address, Cohan continuously visited the victim and solicited larger sums of money for multiple reasons, including funeral expenses for his purportedly deceased father-in-law.
Police said Cohan would also accompany the victim to several banks, convincing her to withdraw large sums of money from her account or by way of credit card cash advances. This totaled to about $20,000.
Police later determined that Cohan’s father-in-law was, in fact, alive and that Cohan received the money from the victim under false pretenses.
As a result, Cohan was again charged with Theft by Deception; consequently, his previous release under Bail Reform was revoked by the Court.
On October 5, 2022, Cohan was taken into custody by detectives from the Berkeley Township Police Department, and he has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since that date.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer acknowledged the efforts of Senior Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Heisler and Assistant Prosecutor Taylor Toscano who handled the case on behalf of the State, and commends the Toms River Township Police Department, Berkeley Township Police Department, and Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, their collective assistance in connection with this investigation.
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