Man Who Sought Sandy Victims at Old Bridge Shelter Pleads Guilty

A Metuchen man accused of stealing money from Superstorm Sandy victims in Middlesex County pleaded guilty to defrauding the victims and others out of $55,000, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced on Tuesday.

David Scott Ruddy, 33, pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by deception on Tuesday. He faces three to five years in state prison and must pay restitution to his victims, Hoffman said.

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 18.

Ruddy was indicted on 10 counts of third-degree in July following an investigation conducted by the Woodbridge Police Department, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Division of Criminal Justice.

He pleaded guilty to defrauding all victims in separate pleas on Tuesday. He will serve his sentences concurrently, Hoffman said.

“While so many New Jerseyans were selflessly aiding victims after Superstorm Sandy, Ruddy stole the very money that some people needed to get back on their feet,” Hoffman said in a prepared statement.  “Posing as a rescue worker to prey on homeless disaster victims is about as low as you can go.  I am gratified that we were able to return the favor, so to speak, by arranging a home for Ruddy in prison.”

He was accused of impersonating a worker with the American Red Cross or a law enforcement officer to defraud victims out of money. He visited various shelters throughout the county, including one at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and one in Old Bridge, following Superstorm Sandy.

He admitted to promising victims low-cost apartments, condos or houses he claimed to own or control, as well as low-cost cars he said he bought at police auctions, Hoffman said.

“It is a sad reality that disasters bring out profiteers and con artists who want to enrich themselves by targeting those who are vulnerable,” Division of Criminal Justice Director Elie Honig said.

Ruddy, who sometimes used the aliases “David Castro” and “David Gartman,” admitted he collected the money from seven victims in need following Sandy and never delivered on his promises, Hoffman said.

He also targeted five others in need for reasons other than Sandy, including a victim in need of furniture. He offered to order it for her, for costs ranging between $1,000 and $9,000, Hoffman said.

He met six victims at shelters, and three more through people at the shelters, and he met the final four victims in other ways.

He kept contact with them, and invited them to a second-floor office above a law firm on Rahway Avenue in Woodbridge to sign false contracts for housing or vehicle purchases, Hoffman said.