Clementon woman convicted of Woodbury rental subsidy theft

PRESS RELEASE
October 28, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact: Bernie Weisenfeld- PIO

Lanese Gerachis (DOB 7/17/85), of La Cascata Apartments in Clementon NJ, has been convicted of theft by receiving a federal housing subsidy for the indigent worth $5,200, then subletting the Woodbury NJ apartment she rented to another tenant.

The guilty finding on a charge of third-degree theft was returned by a jury late Thursday (10/27). Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson scheduled sentencing for Jan. 13, 2012. Assistant Gloucester County Prosecutor Temperance Williamson said the theft conviction may result in a prison sentence because Gerachis has two prior assault convictions in Camden County NJ.

The subletting scheme continued for about six months, between March 2009 and September 2009, the two-day trial showed. At that time, the tenant of Gerachis in the Woodlake apartments attempted to divert her $550 monthly rental to an unpaid electric bill for the unit. Gerachis then sought to evict the tenant and her children and Woodbury police filed the theft charges.