WCNYH

Warehouseman Application Denied Based on Felony Conviction, Fraud, Deceit or Misrepresentation on Application and Recent Drug Use

January 4, 2023

Following a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), the Commission denied the application of Marlon Rojas, 37, of Plainfield, New Jersey, as a warehouseman based upon a disqualifying offense on his criminal record, as well as numerous instances of fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation on his application and during a sworn interview, each of which made his presence a danger to the public peace of safety of the waterfront.

Rojas had submitted an Application for Longshoreman Registration in July of 2019, but on that application and during an interview under oath, he falsely answered indicated that he had never been known by any other name. The Commission established at the hearing that when he had been arrested, he had provided police with a false name. He also indicated on his Application that he had only been arrested twice. The Commission proved at the hearing that he had been arrested on six occasions resulting in convictions for Forgery, Hindering and, Criminal Trespass. Regarding his conviction for Forgery, a 3rd-degree offense, which is a disqualifying offense under the Waterfront Commission Act, the Commission showed that his conviction resulted from a scheme to deposit fraudulent U.S. Treasury checks utilizing false aliases at various bank locations. On five separate occasions, Rojas and an accomplice stole IRS tax refund checks and attempted to fraudulently deposit those checks into newly opened bank accounts before immediately withdrawing the funds. The evidence at the hearing also established that Rojas had used cocaine recently.

In his Report and Recommendation, ALJ Andrew Hahn found that the Commission had proven all the charges set forth in the Notice of Hearing. The ALJ noted that Rojas engaged in actions “fraught with danger and recklessness that…clearly pose a significant risk to the peace and safety on the Waterfront.” Accordingly, the ALJ recommended denial of Rojas’ application which the Commission followed.