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2 contractors accept plea deals after being charged for stealing money from Hurricane Sandy victims in NJ
John Bishop (left) and Paul Rueda (right) have taken plea deals and must pay back thousands to victims of Hurricane Sandy that they defrauded through construction businesses, the Ocean County Prosecutor says. TOMS RIVER, N.J. - Two contractors who were charged in connection with stealing from victims of Hurricane Sandy have pled guilty. According to authorities, John Bishop, 57, of Celebration, Florida and Paul Rueda, 50, of San Diego, Texas, pled guilty to Theft By Failure to Make Required Disposition. The guilty pleas are connected to allegations that the two stole funds through contractor businesses they ran in Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties from October 2014 to May 2017. Authorities say Bishop and Rueda formed John Paul Building LLC in November 2012 and received more than $350,000 from six homeowners in the various counties to have their homes repaired after Hurricane Sandy. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D.