Federal authorities arraigned a Georgia man accused of charging Orange $38,000 in exchange for writing academic papers for the city’s business administrator.
Isaac Newton, a 53-year-old Georgian, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and a single count of unlawfully obtaining $5,000 or more from a federally funded local government.
He’s accused of conspiring with former Orange business administrator Willis Edwards III to defraud Orange into making payments for plagiarized academic papers for Edwards, a former assemblyman who 31-count indictment that includes claims of illegal kickbacks and wire fraud, among a slew of other charges.
Newton allegedly submitted three fraudulent invoices with a total worth of $38,000, purportedly for professional services.
Edwards submitted the papers to several professors, and eight of the charges he faces are related to those against Newton, who faces up to 170 years in prison and has been released on a $100,000 unsecured bond.
Attorneys Michael Baldassare and Jennifer Mara are representing Newton, while Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Fortier Imbert and Cari Fais will prosecute the case.