MONMOUTH COUNTY – A former administrative manager of a carpenters’ union pension fund has been sentenced to six months of home confinement and three years of probation for embezzling roughly $140,000 and making false reports to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), state officials said.
George R. Laufenberg, 72, of Wall Township, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of an indictment charging him with embezzling about $140,000 in pension benefits and making false statements to the DOL.
Laufenberg was the administrative manager of the Northeast Carpenters Pension Fund, which was subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). According to officials, he was a fiduciary and participant in the pension fund.
Laufenberg admitted stealing $140,000 that was paid to him under a deferred compensation agreement to which he was not entitled, officials said. In addition, he admitted to making false statements in a form required under ERISA that he filed to the Department of Labor on behalf of the pension fund.
In addition to the sentencing, Laufenberg was fined $20,000 and is debarred from any future association with a union or benefit plan.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the DOL Employee Benefit Security Administration, under the supervision of Thomas Licetti, Regional Director; special agents of the DOL Office of the Inspector General, under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone; and agents of the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, under the supervision of Inspector General John Gay, with the investigation.
