Atlantic County Men Indicted on Conspiracy & Theft by Deception

ATLANTIC COUNTY —Two Atlantic County men were indicted last Thursday for conspiracy and the theft by deception of over $75,000 in cash and property, in connection with a series of fraudulent transactions committed by the men through their boat sales business, Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain announced.

On Thursday, April 23, 2015, an Atlantic County Grand Jury returned a 34-count indictment against Andrew Biddle, 45, of the 100 block of Brentwood Drive, Egg Harbor Township, and Tracy Blumenstein, 49, of the 1000 block of Broad Street, Northfield, for the following crimes, involving eight (8) separate victims:

• 2nd degree Theft by Deception, for unlawfully and purposely obtaining by deception the property of multiple victims with a value of over $75,000.00, with the purpose to deprive the owners of that property, 
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• 2nd degree Conspiracy, for conspiring with each other commit theft by deception, in excess of $75,000.00, from multiple victims, 
• Two (2) counts of passing Bad Checks—3rd degree crimes—for passing checks, knowing that the drawee would not honor the checks, on in the amount of $17,000.00, the other in the amount of $33,811.09, 
• Six (6) counts of Theft by Deception—3rd degree crimes—by purposely obtaining money or property from the victims by creating or reinforcing the impression that they would, through their business, Professional Boat Sales LLC, sell victims’ boats, or sell boats to victims, then failing to either turn over the proceeds of the sale or provide the purchased item, 
• Five (5) counts of Theft by Illegal Retention—3rd degree crimes—by obtaining the property of victims upon agreement to make specified payment or other disposition, then dealing with the property as their own, failing to make the required payment, 
• 3rd degree Theft by Unlawful Taking, by taking the property of a victim with purpose to deprive that owner of the property, 

• 4th degree Deceptive Business Practices, by creating or reinforcing the false impression that Professional Boat Sales LLC was licensed to sell boats for the purpose of obtaining property or credit. 
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  The State alleges that Biddle and Blumenstein committed this series of crimes between 2012 and 2014. 
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  Both men were previously charged and indicted on several of the individual cases reported to police. This comprehensive set of indictments supersedes the earlier Grand Jury actions. 
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  Both men are released on bail pending trial. 
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  A crime of the 2nd degree carries a potential sentence of 5 to 10 years of incarceration in New Jersey State prison. A 3rd degree crime carries a potential penalty of 3 to five years of imprisonment. A 4th degree crime carries a potential prison sentence not to exceed 18 months. 
• Egg Harbor Township Police Department Detective Ray Theriault investigated the case. 
• Assistant Prosecutor Bryna Batten presented the case to the Grand Jury, and Assistant Prosecutor Shannon Phillips represents the State in the matter going forward. 
• This charge is merely an accusation and not proof of guilt. In all criminal cases, a charged defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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  Anyone with information involving serious crimes is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the Prosecutor’s Office Web site at http://www.acpo.org/tips.html and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the Submit a Tip page. People can also call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS) or visit the Crime Stoppers Website at http://www.crimestoppersatlantic.com/. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.