Scotch Plains Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $350K from Union County Synagogue

Stacy Margaritondo admitted to falsifying records and securing fraudulent loans over a multi-year period while serving as the synagogue’s bookkeeper and office manager.

A Union County woman has admitted to embezzling more than $350,000 from a local synagogue over a span of several years, federal authorities announced.

Stacy Margaritondo, 52, of Scotch Plains, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to one count of wire fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for July 22, 2025, at 12 p.m.

According to court records and statements made during the hearing, Margaritondo began working for the synagogue in 2010 and was promoted to office manager and bookkeeper in July 2020. Between December 2019 and May 2023, she used her access to financial records and authority over accounting functions to misappropriate approximately $350,000 from the organization’s accounts.

As part of the scheme, Margaritondo issued unauthorized checks payable to herself and used the synagogue’s name and financial documents to fraudulently secure short-term loans from at least three cash advance companies. Prosecutors stated that she altered bank statements and maintained inaccurate records to prevent synagogue leadership from detecting the embezzlement.

The wire fraud charge carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense.

The investigation was conducted by special agents of the FBI’s Newark Division, with assistance from the Scotch Plains Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shontae D. Gray of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.