Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Robert Brower, 45, of Seaside Heights, N.J., pled guilty on January 28, 2019 to two separate charges related to his role as a deceptive contractor after Super Storm Sandy. He also pled guilty on an unrelated drug charge before the Honorable Therese A. Cunningham, J.S.C.

In the first case, Brower pled guilty to second-degree theft for taking over $750,000 from a Toms River homeowner and failing to complete the work on his home.  Detective Shadiack of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit determined that Brower contracted with a Toms River homeowner to repair his Sandy-ravaged home and during the course of the project, Brower repeatedly asked for additional monies in excess of the contract in order to move the project forward.  The homeowner agreed to provide the additional monies as Brower would not finish the project.  Prosecutor Billhimer said, “Brower admitted in Court that he left the house unfinished and stole in excess of $750,000 for his own use including the purchase of illegal narcotics.” Prosecutor Billhimer recommended that the Court sentence Brower to seven years in New Jersey State Prison.

In the second case, Brower pled guilty to second-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity (money laundering). He admitted that he stole over $225,000 from a grant he received from the United States’ Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and that he transferred the funds to a bank account he created using his deceased father’s Social Security number and date of birth in order to conceal the proceeds of the theft. Detective Stephen Shadiack of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit and Agents from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determined that in February of 2016, Brower received a $229,395 grant from the HUD Landlord Repair Program to repair 33 Sampson Avenue in Seaside Heights and failed to use the funds for that purpose. Prosecutor Billhimer stated, “Brower admitted that he converted those funds for his own use and tried to disguise his theft by using his father’s pedigree information.” Prosecutor Billhimer recommended that the Court sentence Brower to ten years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to five years of parole ineligibility.

In the third case, Brower pled guilty to distribution of eighteen folds of heroin to an individual in a Toms River parking lot in February 2018.  Prosecutor Billhimer recommended that the Court sentence Brower to five years in New Jersey State Prison.

In addition to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Prosecutor Billhimer would like to thank the Toms River Police Department, Seaside Heights Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Department and United States Marshall’s Service for their assistance in investigating and arresting Brower.

Ocean County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Jill O’Malley and Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Heisler represented the State.  The Honorable Therese A. Cunningham, J.S.C. ordered that Brower be held in the Ocean County Jail pending sentence on March 15, 2019


Follow the Office of the Ocean County Prosecutor online on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The social media links provided are for reference only.
The OCPO does not endorse any non-governmental websites, companies or applications.

For additional information, visit our Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/OCPONJ/

http://rrnnp2.state.nj.us:3082/gca00p00/GCWD/GCWTL20??amhrlgwe


Click for an Alternate Version of This Story!