WCNYH

Former Longshoreman Arrested for Unemployment Fraud

April 27, 2017

On April 27, 2017, former longshoreman Kevin Denson, 35, of Newark, New Jersey, was arrested by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for Theft by Deception, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4, a crime of the third degree. The case was referred to the Prosecutor’s Office by the Waterfront Commission.

Mr. Denson is alleged to have collected unemployment for approximately five (5) months in 2016, during which time he was employed and working as a longshoreman. During those months, Mr. Denson failed to accurately report his longshoreman earnings to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. This failure allowed him to receive money through unemployment that he was not entitled to because of the salary he was earning at that time as a longshoreman.

The Commission learned of this crime while interviewing Mr. Denson regarding his Request for Retention to remain on the longshoremen register despite failing to meet the register’s work and work availability requirements. Mr. Denson was subsequently removed from the longshoreman’s register pursuant to N.J.S.A. 32:23-34 and 32:23-35, which requires “deep-sea” longshoreman to work or apply for work during six-month intervals for a minimum number of days established by the Commission. Longshoremen who fail to meet these requirements may be removed from the longshoreman’s register in a process referred to as “decasualization.” The purposes of decasualization are to balance the supply of eligible longshoreman with the demand for labor and to remove casual workers who threaten the earning power of other longshoreman.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is handling the prosecution of Mr. Denson.