TRUST BETRAYED: Former Hackensack Teacher Gets 5 Years for Defrauding Single Moms, Colleagues Out of College Funds
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
HACKENSACK, NJ – A shocking case of financial deception involving a trusted member of the community has reached a conclusion. Suzette Hart, a 59-year-old former teacher with the Hackensack Public Schools, has been sentenced to five years in state prison for defrauding several friends and colleagues out of over half a million dollars.
Hart, a resident of Oradell, was sentenced on October 24th by Judge Gary Wilcox in New Jersey Superior Court after pleading guilty to second-degree theft by deception on August 7th.
The Crime: Exploiting Vulnerability for Personal Gain
From 2012 to 2017, while earning an annual salary of over $115,000, Hart—who was arrested in October 2020—systematically targeted people who trusted her, including fellow teachers at Fairmount Elementary School.
According to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Hart solicited her victims to invest their savings in various fraudulent schemes. Instead of investing the funds as promised, she used the money to cover her own personal expenses.
Victims Speak: Emotional and Financial Devastation
The sentencing hearing was marked by powerful testimony from several victims who spoke before Judge Wilcox, detailing the profound emotional and financial impact of Hart’s betrayal.
- Godmother’s Betrayal: One victim, a single mother and teacher, revealed she considered Hart one of her closest friends and the godmother to her twin children. She entrusted Hart with her inheritance money for what she believed was a real estate investment intended to fund her children’s college education. “It wasn’t just theft, it was a deep emotional and financial violation by someone I loved and considered family,” the victim stated.
- Targeting the Vulnerable: Another victim, a retired teacher, said Hart began pitching her “business investments” shortly after the death of her husband, seizing on a time of emotional vulnerability to gain her trust and savings.
- Lost Dreams: A third former colleague tearfully explained that the funds lost to Hart’s scheme were savings they had planned to use to cover the costs of adopting a child.
Judge Rejects ‘Economic Penalty’ Defense
Hart’s attorney, Christopher Errante, argued that imprisonment was unnecessary, claiming the crime was an “economic crime that deserves an economic penalty.” Errante cited Hart’s agreement to pay full restitution of over $540,000 and the forfeiture of her 30-year teaching career as sufficient penalty.
Judge Wilcox, however, firmly disagreed, stating that based on the victims’ testimonies and the cruel nature of the deception, the crime was committed in an “especially heinous, cruel and depraved manner.” The Judge ruled that failure to impose imprisonment could be viewed by Hart and others as merely “the cost of doing business,” prioritizing the seriousness of the moral and emotional damage inflicted.
Hart was taken into custody immediately following the sentencing, signaling a definitive end to her decades-long teaching career and a severe penalty for her sustained pattern of deceit.
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What a disgusting human being.
At least she could have done Amway and nobody would have been surprised.
Is this more or less the definition of a sociopath?
Omg! I was thinking the exact same thing! Sociopath!
Yes, she sounds like a sociopath, maybe prison will give her therapy or shock treatment….
Pond Scum. Have fun in jail!🤪