Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

                                 25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3rd Floor, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901 (732) 745-3300

 

                                *News Release*         Date: December 8, 2010

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 


Grand jury indicts Brick Township man on fraud charges

 

 

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan announced today that a grand jury in Middlesex County indicted a Brick Township man on charges of stealing about $82,000 from a Woodbridge woman by keeping money that was supposed to be invested on her behalf.

 

Philip Cohen (DOB 2/13/35) was indicted in New Brunswick on December 2, 2010, on charges of misapplication of entrusted property, theft by failure to make the required disposition of property received, securities fraud and two counts of theft by deception.

 

An investigation by Detective Timothy Laughery of the Woodbridge Police Department and Investigator Lisa Collins of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined that Cohen took funds in various amounts from the 61-year-old woman between January 2008 and March 2010.

 

The investigation showed Cohen, who represented himself as a licensed securities trader, told the woman that he was investing the money in energy stocks, but never deposited any funds with a brokerage firm.

 

Cohen disappeared sometime before March 23, 2010, after the woman began questioning him about the status of her investments. He remains at large.

 

A warrant for his arrest was issued after a grand jury in Ocean County handed up an indictment on August 3, 2010, charging him with theft by deception and two counts of issuing bad checks.

 

In that case, the grand jury charged that Cohen took $30,000 from a Brick Township man between October 13, 2009, and March 1, 2010, but failed to invest the funds. Cohen also wrote two bogus checks when the man asked for the return of his money, the grand jury charged.

 

Anyone with information on Cohen is asked to call Detective Laughery at the Woodbridge Police Department at (732) 634-7700, or Investigator Collins of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3300.

 

As is the case with all criminal defendants, Cohen is presumed innocent until proven guilty.