Holzberg
NEW CITY – A Scarsdale man has been charged with one count of criminal
possession of stolen property and 42 counts of forgery, all as felonies,
in a scheme to defraud a local business owner in Rockland County.
Joseph Holzberg, 51, an independent contractor, was acting in the capacity
of a copy machine vendor. According to the charges, he allegedly forged
documents and invoices in an effort to falsely represent to his client,
the owner of the copy machines, that he had leased the machines to a local
business, when he had not.
As a result of the forgeries, it is alleged Holzberg was paid a commission
from his client and the local business was fraudulently charged over $250,000
for copy machines it was not leasing.
In an effort to cover up the crime, he hid the copy machines in two separate
storage facilities in Rockland County. The machines were recovered by
investigators.
Holzberg, who was arrested on February 1, was arraigned and released
on his own recognizance.
If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in state prison.
“This elaborate scheme in which the defendant was allegedly involved
was motivated by greed, plain and simple,” said District Attorney
Thomas Zugibe.
