DUI Lawyers in Spring Lake Heights, NJ

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A disbarred attorney from Spring Lake Heights is facing charges after authorities say she stole more than $130,000 from a dead client’s estate.

In a May 15 news release, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said Kathleen Cehelsky, 60, was charged with second-degree misapplication of entrusted property, fourth-degree false uttering and fourth-degree forgery.

Authorities allege that after the 2014 death of a client, Cehelsky spent the next seven years transferring money from that individual’s estate funds into her own bank accounts.

As a result, 10 beneficiaries of the estate never received their inheritance, said the prosecutor’s office, noting that none of them had granted Cehelsky permission to withdraw any money.

To cover her tracks, Cehelsky also allegedly altered her bank statements to conceal the misappropriated funds, authorities said.

The prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the matter after receiving information in May 2024 from the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics. Following a preliminary investigation by the OAE, Cehelsky was disbarred in April 2024.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Cehelsky has since returned approximately two-thirds of the money to the estate funds.

After being served with the charges earlier this week, she was released on her own recognizance pending a June 24 appearance in Monmouth County Superior Court.

Raymond Londa, the attorney representing Cehelsky, declined to comment.

In case you missed it:

Last year, a Monmouth County man was sentenced in a $10 million scheme to defraud Gold Star families. Read more here.

Ken Serrano

FREEHOLD – A disbarred Spring Lake Heights attorney has been accused of taking more than $130,000 from a dead client's estate..

Kathleen M. Cehelsky, 60, of Spring Lake Heights is charged with misapplication of entrusted property, false uttering and forgery.

The scheme took place over almost seven years and was uncovered by the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said in a statement.

The Office of Attorney Ethics conducted a preliminary investigation, which lead to Cehelsky being disbarred, Santiago said. After the attorney ethics office passed along its findings, the Financial Crimes & Special Prosecutions Unit of the prosecutor's office began its investigation last May.

The financial crimes unit discovered that Cehelsky illegally transferred money from the client's estate fund following that client's death in 2014, Santiago said. The scheme continued until 2021, he said.

The illegal transfers ranged from several thousand dollars to $56,000, which were placed into personal accounts Cehelsky controlled, Santiago said.

None of the estate's 10 beneficiiaries had given Cehelsky permission to withdraw the money. They were deprived of $130,000 in inheritance, he said.

Cehelsky also altered her bank statements to hide the misappropriated funds, he said.

Cehelsky has paid back two thirds of the money taken from the estate, Santiago said.

She was charged earlier in the week and was released on her own recognizance. Her attorney, Raymond Londa of Elizabeth, was unable to be reached.

A handful of the many SLHFD volunteers for the Pancake BreakfastPhoto Credit: Jim Lonergan

Entry into June 9th Pancake BreakfastPhoto Credit: Jim Lonergan

SLHFD Leadership TeamPhoto Credit: SLHFD Website

Annual SLHFD Pinewood DerbyPhoto Credit: SLHFD Website

Spring Lake Heights Volunteer FirefightersPhoto Credit: Jim Lonergan

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By Jim Lonergan

Published June 9, 2024 at 2:06 PM

Last updated June 9, 2024 at 2:06 PM

SPRING LAKE HEIGHTS, NJ - This past weekend, the Spring Lake Heights Independent Fire Co #1 held one of its four Sunday summer Pancake Breakfasts for the purpose of raising funds to support Spring Lake Heights Independent Fire Company, and drive awareness to help recruit members to join the volunteer organization. These events run on the 2^nd Sunday of each month, June through September.

From a fund-raising perspective, these summer breakfasts typically raise $2,500-$3,000. Over the course of the summer, it is estimated to attract up to one thousand residents to the pancake breakfasts. They are also intended to engage with the community and introduce young children, and possible retirees into the fire community" said President and Captain Casey Willms. "The summer fundraiser is enough to let us maintain a lot of the things, from membership drives to having food for volunteers after their training sessions. Our Volunteer Fire Department is generally self-funded. We own the building. We own the property. We own much of the equipment, but the Borough owns much of the fire apparatus and fire trucks. We do much of the building and ground maintenance ourselves. We work with the town each year on where our capital equipment needs may be in the future, so we can jointly allocate funds when needed. The town contracts each year with the volunteer fire company. But building maintenance and repairs, which at times can be sizable, are funded solely by SLHFD Independent Fire Co #1.”

From the recruitment standpoint, the SLH Fire Department has experienced a decline in the number of volunteers since 2005, and the challenge continues to grow each year. Captain Willms attributes this trend to several factors: "The demographic shift in the community, driven by escalating home prices in Spring Lake Heights, is attracting a more professional workforce with limited free time. Additionally, the ever-increasing state and local fire department training requirements are significant and contribute to the difficulty in maintaining volunteer numbers. We have a great relationship with the Spring Lake volunteer fire department, and we support each other when needed. It helps, but at some point as members retire, that curve becomes self-fulfilling."

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This issue is not unique to Spring Lake Heights. Across New Jersey, volunteer fire departments have been struggling with recruitment and retention. According to the New Jersey State Firemen's Association, the number of volunteer firefighters in the state has decreased by over 20% in the past decade. This decline is largely due to increased training requirements, which can total over 200 hours for new recruits, and the demanding nature of the job, which often requires balancing fire department responsibilities with personal and professional commitments.

The changing demographics in many New Jersey communities also play a role as Spring Lake Heights demonstrates. As housing prices rise, more affluent and time-constrained professionals move into areas that were once home to potential volunteers who had the time and flexibility to serve. This shift has made it increasingly difficult for fire departments to find and retain volunteers, exacerbating the strain on existing personnel and resources.

From recruiting new volunteer members, Captain Willms looks at it from many angles. “So much of recruiting starts from the member families already serving the community, but we can only have so many kids. So, it becomes critical to introduce the children of the community to the benefits of joining the Volunteer Fire Company at an early age. Sometimes it’s just having the kids to these Sunday Pancake breakfasts and seeing the inside of the Firehouse. Or climbing on a fire engine. We begin taking on recruits as early as 14 years old. When we have an opportunity to embed our young adults into the program at a young age, the odds of retaining them in the full volunteer program increase significantly."

The SLHFD also do their own training in-house a few times per month to get the recruits ingrained in the culture and, allow our firefighters to transfer their fire knowledge right inside the community before they go off to the Monmouth County Fire Training program.” If we can get them in and certified before they’re through college, it’s much easier to maintain them at that point before they go off to a full-time job outside the area. We look at this as our core responsibility to train recruits, so by the time they move on to the academy for full training, they are already well-prepared to become a Volunteer Fire Department member” said Captain Willms.

The next SLHFD fundraiser is June 22nd which is the Cornhole Tournament to Fight Pediatric Cancer in conjunction with the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation. For more information, contact rcontreras@emmanuelcancer.org

Interested in Marketing your Business into TAPinto Gold Coast towns of Spring Lake, Manasguan, Sea Girt, Brielle, Spring Lake Heights? E-mail jlonergan@tapinto.net