Sudhan Thomas pleads guilty to embezzlement charges

Former Jersey City Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas today admitted to embezzling funds from the  Jersey City Employment and Training Program while serving as the agency’s executive director and for embezzling money from his campaign account.

Thomas acknowledged stealing more than $45,000 from the federally-funded JCETP by issuing checks made payable to others and writing checks payable to cash that he cashed himself or obtained bank checks payable to an entity where he was a director, Next Glocal.

He also embezzled more than $8,000 from his campaign account.

The New Jersey Globe first reported in July 2019 that a whistleblower claimed Thomas terminated her after raising concerns about his management of the agency, and first reported in August 2019 that Thomas had been writing checks made out to cash from the JCETP account that he had signed and endorsed.

Federal prosecutors charged Thomas with embezzlement in January 2020.

The New Jersey Globe obtained copies of the backs of the checks through a request under the Open Public Records Act.  Copies of the original checks were included in a letter to federal and state prosecutors from a whistleblower who claims Thomas fired her for voicing concerns about three checks made out to cash totaling $16,500.

Jersey City provided the Globe with the front and back of just two of the checks written to cash. The two consecutively numbered checks, each written to cash for $4,500, were written on May 4, 2019, and cashed two days later.

The signature looks to match a public document signed by Thomas.

Thomas also faces state charges that he took a $35,000 cash bribe from the state attorney general’s cooperating witness in a corruption probe.  The allegations were announced in December 2019.  Thomas is expected to appear before a Superior Court Judge next month.

Thomas had been named to the JCETP post by Mayor Steve Fulop after the termination of former Gov. James E. McGreevey.