Former N.J. treasury official gets prison for stealing $78,000 from state

Stephanie Hargrove, a former claims investigator for the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, was sentenced Friday to a three-year prison term after pleading guilty to stealing $78,000 by processing damage claims for events that never occurred.

Hargrove, 40, of Willingboro, approved or processed fraudulent claims made in the names of relatives and friends, thereby collecting payouts for fictitious harms that supposedly had been perpetrated by state employees, the state attorney general's office said.

The made-up events described in the claims included wrongful towing of vehicles and household damage blamed on foster children placed by the state Department of Children and Families, authorities said.

Hargrove was suspended from her state job after she was charged in April 2017 and pleaded guilty in September to charges of second-degree theft. She now is permanently barred from state employment and is required to pay restitution, the attorney general's office said.

Hargrove was a principal claims investigator, meaning she oversaw other investigators but also handled her own case load, approving damage claims for payment.