Former Prosecutor Reaches $1 Million Whistleblower Settlement with Ocean County

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A former New Jersey executive assistant prosecutor has settled a wrongful termination claim after he exposed illegal behavior by an addiction recovery expert the counter prosecutor worked with. Michel A. Paulhus will receive $1,075,000 for his 2019 lawsuit against Ocean County and the former county prosecutor Joseph Coronato.

Case background

Paulhus was working for the Ocean County prosecutor in 2018. He claimed that a “self-professed” addiction and recovery specialist who worked with Coronato was instructing clients to violate laws, and lied to younger clients’ parents about payments for his services. This includes sending a woman on probation to an out-of-state rehabilitation facility, which violated the terms of her probation. Meanwhile, Paulhus alleges that the specialist “enjoyed a very close and public relationship” with the county prosecutor, and was unjustly enriched as a result.

When Paulhus met with Coronato and another prosecutor to report the wrongdoing, he warned them that the specialist was unfairly benefiting. Days later, he also reported that the specialist had instructed and helped a client on probation consume a dangerous controlled substance so she would test positive and be sent to out-of-state rehab, violating her probation.

Paulhus was fired, effective in October 2018, for allegedly creating a “hostile environment,” despite the fact that his attorney sent the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office a letter informing them that firing him was a violation of the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act. Three days later, Paulhus was terminated. The specialist then died in 2020 in what was reported as an accidental drug overdose. The case reached a settlement in mediation.

If your employer has engaged in wrongdoing, an experienced whistleblower attorney at Kardell Law Group can help you understand your legal options. Reach out today to get started.

By Steve Kardell | Published May 16, 2023 | Posted in Graft and Corruption, Whistleblower Litigation | Tagged hostile environment, New Jersey Concientious Employee Protection Act, whistleblower settlement

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