The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
UPDATE: A Somerset County Grand Jury handed down indictments for the four Rubin family members and their two employees, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said on December 20.
The Grand Jury charged David Rubin, Lisa Rubin, Sherylee Rubin, Batsheva Rubin-Rivera, Andre Watts and Dunia Patricia Hernandez with second degree operating an organized retail theft enterprise, second degree receiving stolen property, and second degree fencing by dealing in stolen property, according to the Prosecutor’s Office press release.
The Grand Jury also separately charged each of the Rubins with the 2nd Degree crime of being the leader of the organized retail theft enterprise based on their supervisory role in the operation, and 2nd Degree misconduct by a corporate official for operating a New Jersey limited liability business in furtherance of criminal activity, according to the release.
The Grand Jury also charged David and Lisa Rubin jointly with 4th Degree attempted unauthorized use of ATP cards or Food Stamp Program coupons intended exclusively for citizens in need of assistance.
David Rubin was also charged solely with 3rd Degree receiving stolen property and 3rd Degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance, known as Tramadol, which had been prescribed to a Cliffside Park woman who is now deceased, according to the release.
All six are free on bail, with arraignments on their indictments likely occurring in late-January 2020, according to the release. If convicted of any one of the 2nd Degree crimes, they face between five and 10 years in state prison.
David Rubin is providing land that he owns on John F. Kennedy Boulevard for a monument to the late Pres. John F. Kennedy.
Original Story: Four members of a prominent Franklin family were among six people arrested last month on charges of running a retail theft ring out of a Hamilton Street business.
David Rubin, 59, and Lisa Rubin, 54, both of Aldeburgh Avenue; Sherylee Rubin, 58, of Easton Avenue; Batsheva Rubin-Rivera, 23, of Sandford Street, New Brunswick; Andre Watts, 29, of Wilson Street, North Brunswick, and Dunia Patricia Hernandez, 31, of Luis Street were charged after a seven-month investigation, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
Sherrylee Rubin, Rubin-Rivera and Hernandez were arrested on June 4, according to Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson, Det. Jeanne Trillhaase. David and Lisa Rubin and Watts were arrested on June 11, she said.
David Rubin is the owner of Everything Wireless at 665 Hamilton St.
David and Lisa Rubin are married, Batsheva Rubin-Rivera is their daughter and Sherylee Rubin is David Rubin’s sister, according to Trillhaase.
David Rubin was also indicted in 2013 for selling stolen property out of his Hamilton Street store. The disposition of that case was not immediately known.
The Rubin family as a whole has owned several business in the township over the years, the best-known of which was Rubin’s Hardware on John F. Kennedy Boulevard and, later, Franklin Boulevard, which was owned by David Rubin’s father.
Sheryylee Rubin is also a Realtor, working out of the Coldwell Banker Hillsborough-Montgomery office on Route 206.
According to the press release, authorities received information that the six were buying items stolen from stores such as Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond and others.
A seven-month investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Task Force determined that the defendants would buy the stolen property and sell it out of Rubin’s store Everything Wireless, or on the Internet, according to the release.
On June 4, members of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Task Force and Crime Scene Unit, the Franklin Township Police Department, and investigators from the New Jersey Division of Taxation and the United States Postal Inspector’s Office raided Rubin’s store and David Rubin’s home, according to the release.
“Numerous” suspected stolen items – valued at more than $14,000 – were found through those raids, according to the release.
Assisting the officers were loss prevention investigators from Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond and Target stores, according to the release.
David and Sheryllee Rubin were charged with 2nd Degree Leader of an Organized Retail Theft Enterprise and 2nd Degree Leader of Organized Crime Racketeering. Lisa Rubin, Batsheva Rubin-Rivera, Andre Watts, and Dunia Patricia Hernandez – all employees of Everything Wireless – were charged with 3rd Degree Receiving Stolen Property and 3rd Degree Dealing in Stolen Property, according to the release.
All six were released on their own recognizance pending a Somerset County Superior Court appearance in Somerville, according to the release.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Burglary Task Force Unit at (908) 231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ. Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.888577tips.org or at www.scpo.net and click on either “Crime Stoppers” or “TIPS HOTLINE”. All anonymous Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.
