A total of 81 people have been charged since March 2014, the state attorney general's office said.
Five more people have been charged with filing false applications for relief for Hurricane Sandy damage to homes that were not primary residences, authorities said.
The charges are a part of the state attorney general's crackdown on Sandy relief fraud. A total of 81 people have been charged in Sandy-related fraud since March 2014.
Carmela Longo, 54, of Westerly, R.I., received about $192,000 in funds for filing claims for a home she owns in Ventnor that she said was her primary residence when Sandy hit, authorities said.
She was actually living in Rhode Island at the time and the Ventnor home was a seasonal property, authorities said. Longo is charged with second-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification.
Michael McCrone, 64, of Bayville, is alleged to have received more than $72,000 for claiming his primary residence in Bayville was damaged, authorities said.
His primary residence was discovered to be in Newtown, Pa., authorities said. He is charged with second-degree attempted theft by deception, third-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification.
Keith Bowden, 69, of North Plainfield, received more than $27,000 for claiming a rental/secondary property in Lavellette as his primary residence, authorities said. Bowden faces charges of third-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification.
Marcy Gendel, 65, of Verona, claimed that a rental property in Point Pleasant Beach damaged by the storm was her primary residence and received $12,270 in grants, authorities said. Gendel was charged with third-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification.
Randolph Colson, 65, of Netcong, allegedly filed an application for a summer/weekend home he owns in Sea Bright and claimed it was his primary residence, authorities said. He withdrew his federal application, but received a $10,000 state-issued resettlement grant, authorities said. Colson is charged with third-degree theft by deception.
In many cases, applications have been made to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), SBA loans, as well as a HUD-funded Sandy relief program and HHS funds -- both at the state level.
"We charge that these defendants stole from disaster relief programs and by extension from the victims who were hardest hit by the storm," Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in the statement. "We'll continue to charge every cheat we identify who diverted funds from these recovery programs and from victims in need."
Rajeev Dhir may be reached at rdhir@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @googasmammoo. Find NJ.com on Facebook.