Mercer County Woman Receives Suspended Jail Term for $268K Pension Fraud

Sandra VonScheven ordered to repay full amount after illegally collecting state benefits for nearly a decade.

HAMILTON, N.J. - Sandra VonScheven, 49, of Hamilton, New Jersey, has been sentenced to a suspended jail term and ordered to pay restitution after fraudulently collecting more than $268,000 in state pension benefits. The sentencing was announced by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) following a court hearing on August 23, 2024, where VonScheven received her sentence from state Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Hughes.

“This sentence should serve as a warning that we will not allow individuals to enrich themselves at the expense of New Jersey taxpayers and public servants,” said Attorney General Platkin. “This crime went on for nearly a decade, but it was ultimately detected and the defendant held responsible.”

“For years the defendant unlawfully collected taxpayer funds she knew she should no longer be getting, instead of doing the right thing and informing the State that she had remarried,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of OPIA. “As a result of this case, the defendant will be held to account and to repay her ill-gotten gains.”

VonScheven illegally received survivor benefits from her deceased husband's pension after remarrying in January 2010, despite knowing these payments should have ceased upon her remarriage. The scheme, which spanned nearly a decade until November 2019, was uncovered by the Division of Pensions and Benefits, leading to an indictment in January 2021 after an investigation by the OPIA Corruption Bureau and the Pension Fraud and Abuse Unit.

As part of a plea agreement reached in June 2024, VonScheven was sentenced to probation with a condition of 364 days in the county jail, which has been suspended contingent upon her successful completion of the probation. She is also required to repay the full amount of the stolen funds to the New Jersey Division of Pension and Benefits.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorneys General Brian Uzdavinis and Adam Gerken, with oversight from the OPIA's leadership team.