Residents of Senior Community in Toms River Scammed by Ocean County Man
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August 29, 2023Residents of Senior Community in Toms River Scammed by Ocean County Man
Photo Credit: Ocean County Jail
Robert Cohan, 36, of Lakehurst
Robert Cohan, 36, of Lakehurst, pleaded guilty to Theft by Deception on August 28, 2023, according to Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. The State will ask for an eight-year sentence in a New Jersey state prison at the time of his sentencing on October 27, 2023, as well as about $220,000 in compensation for several victims.
An investigation by the Toms River Township Police Department revealed that between February 2022 and May 2022, Cohan – oftentimes posing as a relative of someone who owns a legitimate contracting business - targeted residents of the Gardens of Pleasant Plains, an age-restricted community in Toms River.
Specifically, Cohan solicited individuals to engage his services to perform work on the exterior of their residences; he then performed little to no work - stealing approximately $200,000 from more than 10 victims in the process. On June 23, 2022, Cohan was charged with Theft by Deception and taken into custody by Detectives from the Toms River Township Police Department without incident. Cohan was subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.A subsequent investigation by the Berkeley Township Police Department revealed that in September 2022, Cohan approached an elderly victim at a bank in Berkeley Township - using a false identity - and solicited a small amount of money. In exchange, the victim allowed Cohan to perform a small task on her property in lieu of being paid back.
With knowledge of the victim’s address, Cohan continuously visited the victim and solicited larger sums of money for multiple reasons, including funeral expenses for his purportedly deceased father-in-law. Cohan would also accompany the victim to several banks - convincing her to withdraw large sums of money from her account or by way of credit card cash advances – which totaled approximately $20,000. Further investigation determined that Cohan’s father-in-law was, in fact, alive and that Cohan received the money from the victim under false pretenses. As a result, Cohan was again charged with Theft by Deception; consequently, his previous release under Bail Reform was revoked by the Court. On October 5, 2022, Cohan was taken into custody by Detectives from the Berkeley Township Police Department, and he has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since that date.
