F.H. woman sentenced for embezzling

BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

FAIR HAVEN –– A borough woman was sentenced last week to a state prison term for embezzling her daughter’s trust fund.

Barbara Marschall, 49, was sentenced on Feb. 10 by the Honorable Bette E. Uhrmacher to a term of seven years in the Edna Mahan Correction Facility, Clinton, to run concurrent to a sentence she is presently serving on unrelated drug charges, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Marschall had previously pleaded guilty on Oct. 20 to one count of misapplication of entrusted property and at her plea, admitted to using monies from a trust fund established solely for the benefit of her daughter, for her own personal benefit, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

An investigation conducted by the Economic Crimes Unit of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office revealed that in 1995, Marschall was named as the guardian of her daughter as well as trustee of the Marschall Family Trust, established solely for the benefit of her daughter, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

The trust, initially valued at approximately $2.8 million, was established in 1995 as the result of a settlement in a medical malpractice lawsuit brought on behalf of the Marschall’s daughter, now 20 years-old, who was born with severe neurological disorders and cerebral palsy requiring constant medical attention.

As part of the settlement, Marschall also received an award of approximately $614,000. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, from 1995 through 2004, Marschall not only spent all of the money received as part of the settlement, but also a substantial portion of the settlement established for the benefit of her daughter.

It was determined that Marschall used the money to purchase, among other things, luxury cars, including a 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL500 convertible and a 1995 Porsche 911 convertible, lavish vacations, a plasma television and a tanning bed, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

Marschall also used money from the trust to purchase cocaine and heroin and to pay for bail and legal fees associated with her subsequent arrests on charges of possessing those substances, the Prosecutor’s Office said.

Marschall was removed as both guardian of her daughter and trustee of the Marschall Family Trust on June 15, 2005.

Marschall’s home in Fair Haven on the Navesink River was sold as well as the luxury cars and a boat, as ordered by the court.