Republican Gloucester County commissioner candidate Martino Cartier built his public brand around celebrity, charity, and reinvention.
But a review of court records, legal filings, and news accounts shows that Cartier has a long history of criminal charges for insurance fraud, years of debt-related court judgments, trademark litigation, consumer lawsuits, election-related disputes, and a long list of other legal controversies stretching back more than three decades.
The centerpiece of Cartier’s legal history is a 20-year-old criminal case in which he admitted defrauding Allstate Insurance Company. He was charged with theft by deception.
According to court records and a state attorney general report, Cartier falsely reported that his vehicle had been stolen and collected nearly $19,360 in insurance proceeds. Authorities later determined the theft claim was fraudulent.
Prosecutors claimed Cartier brought his 2000 Chrysler Sebring to a body shop for repairs. After being unable to pay the balance of his bill – which was secured by a mechanic’s lien – he conspired to abandon the car at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and report it stolen. Allstate paid the lienholder.
Cartier admitted to theft by deception and was ordered to pay restitution to Allstate as part of his admission to the state’s Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) program. After a period of good behavior, Cartier’s criminal record was removed.
Unlike many of the other controversies that have followed him, the insurance case is not merely an allegation or lawsuit. It resulted in a criminal guilty plea.
The conviction resurfaced during Cartier’s 2006 campaign for Washington Township Council, when Republican opponents repeatedly cited it as evidence that he lacked the judgment necessary for public office. Cartier publicly apologized but never escaped the issue politically. He lost the Republican primary by nearly a 5-to-1 margin, winning just 22% of the vote.
Cartier’s legal name was originally Martin Clinton Maguire. He legally changed it to Martino Cartier in 1996 as he launched his salon business and began building the public persona that would eventually make him one of South Jersey’s best-known hairstylists.
The insurance fraud conviction was followed by years of civil litigation and financial disputes.
Court records cited in the report show that Citibank obtained a $7,773.48 judgment against Cartier in 2010. That debt was not formally satisfied until four years later; a second Citibank judgment followed in 2011 for another $1,924.78.
That same year, Vion Holdings obtained a judgment against Cartier for $5,532.86, while CACH of New Jersey secured another judgment exceeding $2,000.
Among the most significant was a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Cartier International, the luxury jewelry and watch company.
The company accused Cartier and his businesses of trademark infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, and dilution of the Cartier brand. The litigation ended with a federal consent judgment requiring compliance with restrictions on the use of the Cartier name and trademark.
Other lawsuits painted a less flattering picture.
A Beverly Hills memorabilia dealer sued Cartier in federal court, alleging that he purchased a $15,000 Liberace ring, used it for promotional purposes, and then returned it while continuing to benefit from the publicity associated with possessing the item. The case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds without determination on the merits.
In 1995, Chemical Bank sued Cartier, then known as Martin Maguire, and his mother over more than $10,000 in unpaid obligations. The judgment remained unsatisfied for roughly three years. In 2003, a law firm sued Cartier and another defendant for nearly $5,000 in unpaid fees.
Federal court records show Cartier has been involved in at least six federal lawsuits, four as a defendant and two as a plaintiff.
A model, Michelle Kalinkina, sought $5 million in damages after alleging Cartier cut her neck during a live haircut demonstration at a New York trade show and refused to allow her to leave the stage for medical treatment.
A federal judge rejected Cartier’s argument that a liability waiver barred the lawsuit, ruling that the language the defendants relied on did not clearly shield them from negligence claims. The case was ultimately dismissed years later. Kalinka did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2022, Cartier’s salon became the target of a class-action lawsuit alleging violations of federal credit-card privacy laws.
According to the complaint, the salon’s receipts improperly displayed information that federal law requires businesses to conceal. The lawsuit alleged that customers were exposed to unnecessary risks of identity theft and credit-card fraud. The case was ultimately settled.
Cartier filed a lawsuit against Washington Township in 2024 over a tax sale certificate he claimed was improperly issued and over allegations of selective zoning enforcement connected to his home in Sewell, which he believed violated his First Amendment rights.
Township officials cited dozens of zoning violations involving statues, fountains, memorials, religious displays, and other structures erected without approval. According to reports cited in court filings, potential penalties reached nearly $20,000 per day. While portions of the zoning matter were eventually resolved, the broader litigation remains ongoing.
In 2023, The Home Shopping Network (HSN) terminated its relationship with Cartier, which had been a prominent presenter for hair product brands for roughly 15 years. They cited “unwanted physical contact” with multiple HSN team members.
Cartier said he “sued them in federal court to protect my name and reputation.”
He staunchly disputed the allegations, contending that the conduct cited by HSN reflected the same colorful, high-energy style that viewers had seen throughout his years as an on-air personality. He said it was common practice for him to greet and thank co-hosts and models with hugs before and after appearances, and that touching a model’s hair — and at times making incidental contact with a neck or shoulder — was a routine and unavoidable part of demonstrating hairstyling techniques on live television. Cartier argued that his animated, larger-than-life presentation style had long been a hallmark of his broadcasts and was well known to both HSN and its audience.
A $50 million defamation lawsuit filed by Cartier was dismissed, and settlement terms were not disclosed. A federal judge backed up Cartier’s claim that he was not a public official.
In one of the more unusual episodes in his background, Cartier was charged by state wildlife authorities in 2002 with illegally possessing a rare South American capuchin monkey named Moochie, and selling the animal without the permits required under New Jersey law. The case attracted attention because exotic animal prosecutions are relatively uncommon and because the allegations involved a species that state regulators considered potentially dangerous.
Cartier said that he didn’t realize that Pennsylvania allows the sale of monkeys – he bought the animal from a licensed breeder for $5,000 – and New Jersey does not. Court records show that Cartier ultimately pleaded guilty to the possession charge and was fined $500. A
In a telephone interview, Cartier defended his past issues and said some of the matters look worse than they are because he chose to settle them rather than spend time and money on litigation. Beyond some litigation where he maintains he can’t discuss the settlement, Cartier openly acknowledged that his past has some messy parts.
“I’m an open book,” he said. “Sorry, I’m not Jesus Christ.”
Supporters argue that Cartier’s charitable work should outweigh past mistakes and disputes.
Through Wigs & Wishes, Cartier has become one of South Jersey’s most visible philanthropic figures, providing wigs and grants to cancer patients; Paula Abdul serves on his board. He operates a petting zoo for children out of his Sewall home.
“Why don’t people write stories about the good things I do?” Cartier asked.
The controversies surrounding Cartier arrive at a difficult moment for Gloucester County Republicans.
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