Three former employees of Seton Hall University plead guilty to defrauding law school of more than $1.3 million

A former assistant dean and two other former employees of the law school at Seton Hall University in Newark have pleaded guilty to defrauding their former employer of more than $1.3 million.

Teresina DeAlmeida, 59, of Warren, and Rose Martins, 44, of East Hanover, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in a federal court in Newark on Friday. Silvia Cardoso, 61, of Warren, pleaded guilty to the same charge on July 25.

“Through an elaborate, years-long embezzlement scheme, these defendants violated their obligation to the students and exploited took their role at this institution of higher learning to line their own pockets,” U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said. “Through forgery, fraudulent invoices, unauthorized transactions, and phony shell companies, they stole money intended to benefit the school and its student body and abused their positions. These arrests are yet another example of this office’s commitment to holding accountable those who commit financial fraud.”

Between 2009 and July 2022, DeAlmeida, Martins, and Cardoso allegedly conspired to misappropriate more than $1.3 million from the law school. DeAlmeida was an assistant dean responsible for financial functions, and Martins served as her assistant. Cardoso, DeAlmeida’s sister, was also employed by the law school in as a support staff member.

The women used a variety of methods to defraud the university, according to Sellinger’s office. The U.S. Attorney did not name the law school in a press release about the guilty pleas. Public records and court records show the three women worked at the law school at Seton Hall.

Beginning in 2009, DeAlmeida allegedly directed a graduate school vendor to pay Martins and Cardoso as though they worked for the vendor, even though they did not perform any services. DeAlmeida and Martins then allegedly had the vendor submit false invoices to the graduate school over the course of about four years to reimburse the vendor for the amounts paid to Martins and Cardoso.

From 2010 through 2022, DeAlmeida and Martins directed graduate school vendors to order hundreds of thousands of dollars in gift cards and prepaid debit cards that the women then used for their personal benefit. They then allegedly submitted fraudulent invoices to the school purporting to be for goods and services that were never provided. The women also allegedly misused DeAlmeida’s school-issued credit card to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars in gift cards and prepaid debit cards from the school’s bookstore. DeAlmeida routinely allegedly fraudulently approved the charges and Martins allegedly forged the signatures of other employees on internal approval forms.

In 2015, Martins allegedly created a shell entity called CMS Content Management Specialist LLC. Although CMS never rendered any services to the graduate school, Martins submitted and DeAlmeida approved fraudulent invoices totaling more than $208,000.

The women also allegedly used DeAlmeida’s school-issued credit card to make tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized personal purchases. DeAlmeida and Martins used the card to make more than $70,000 in purchases at an online retailer shipped directly to their homes, including women’s shoes, smart watches, and bed linens. DeAlmeida and Martins allegedly fraudulently altered certain receipts before submitting them to the school for payment.

The wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine equal to the greater of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater. Sentencing for Cardoso is scheduled for Nov. 26. DeAlmeida will be sentenced Dec. 2 and Martins will be sentenced Dec. 3.

According to NJ.com, Seton Hall Law School discovered in a 2022 audit that a few long-time employees had cheated the school out of $975,000.

In April of 2023, a former director of security at the law school, Christopher Gialanella, sued the law school, claiming he was fired for voicing concerns about potential fraudulent activity at the law school. Gialanella, a retired captain who had worked in the Newark Police Department prior to becoming head of security at the law school, began his new post on April 1, 2022. He alleged in his lawsuit that prior to beginning his new job, DeAlmeida asked him if she could hire his private security firm to assist the school before his start date. He claimed in the suit that DeAlmeida paid him and he became alarmed when she told him not to share with anyone that his private security firm had been hired. He alleged that he raised concerns about finances in a meeting with DeAlmeida in July of 2022 after most of his requests for money for security items were denied. He was fired shortly after on July 10, 2022. According to court records, his case against the law school was dismissed in May.