Man Admits Stealing $220K From Elderly Victims In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ ? A Lakehurst man has pleaded guilty to stealing $220,000 from elderly residents of Toms River, then targeting a Berkeley Township woman while awaiting trial on the Toms River charges, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Monday.

Robert M. Cohan, 36, pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of theft by deception before Superior Court Judge Kimarie Rahill, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Cohan was arrested in June 2022 on a charge of theft by deception after taking payment to do work around the homes of elderly residents in Toms River,

Cohan is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 27, with the state set to seek an 8-year prison sentence and restitution of $220,000 to his victims, Billhimer said.

Billhimer said an investigation by Toms River police found that from February 2022 through May 2022, Cohan targeted residents of the Gardens of Pleasant Plains, an age-restricted community.

Cohan ? often posing as a relative of someone who owns a legitimate contracting business ? offered to perform work on the outside of their homes for payment, and took the payment but did little to no work.

He stole about $200,000 from 10 victims and was arrested and charged with theft by deception on June 23, 2022, then released from jail as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform, the prosecutor said.

While awaiting trial on the Toms River charges, Cohan approached an elderly woman at a bank in Berkeley Township and solicited a small amount of money. In exchange, the victim allowed Cohan ? who gave a false identity ? to perform a small task on her property in lieu of being paid back.

After that, Cohan continuously visited the victim and solicited larger sums of money for multiple reasons, including funeral expenses for his purportedly deceased father-in-law, Billhimer said.

Cohan would also accompany the victim to several banks, convincing her to withdraw large sums of money from her account or by way of credit card cash advances, totaling about $20,000, he said. Investigators determined Cohan?s father-in-law was alive and that Cohan received the money from the victim under false pretenses.

Cohan was arrested Oct. 5, 2022, and charged again with theft by deception and sent to jail after his release under bail reform was revoked, Billhimer said. Cohan has been held at the Ocean County Jail since the October arrest.

Senior Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Heisler and Assistant Prosecutor Taylor Toscano handled the case on behalf of the state. The Toms River Township Police Department, Berkeley Township Police Department, and Ocean County Prosecutor?s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit assisted and collaborated in the investigation.