Former Lumberton Township Mayor Gina LaPlaca is back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, this time over allegations tied to a petition for a Democratic primary race. Prosecutors say the paperwork carried signatures that were not properly signed by the people listed, and her husband, Jason Carty, is also facing charges connected to the same filing. The case lands on top of LaPlaca’s earlier DUI plea, which already put her under a harsh public microscope.
According to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, LaPlaca was charged with making a false statement under oath, knowingly filing a false petition, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records. Carty was charged with knowingly filing a false petition, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records. The core allegation is simple and ugly: signatures on a nominating petition were allegedly treated like a shortcut, and prosecutors say that shortcut broke the law.
The petition at the center of the case was submitted for the June 2026 Democratic primary race for Lumberton Township Committee. LaPlaca’s affidavit reportedly said she “personally circulated the petition [and] that such petition was signed by each of the signers thereof in his/her own handwriting.” That line now sits in the middle of a legal mess, because investigators say several people whose names appeared on the petition denied signing it or giving anyone permission to sign for them.
Prosecutors said the signatures mattered a lot. Without the allegedly fraudulent names, LaPlaca’s petition would not have had enough valid support to qualify her for the ballot. That kind of allegation cuts straight to election integrity, where even small paper-filing tricks can decide who gets a shot at public office and who gets shut out.
LaPlaca, 47, and Carty, 49, are said to have collected signatures for the filing, according to investigators. That detail makes the case feel even more personal, because it suggests the effort was not some random clerical mistake but something tied directly to the campaign process itself. The prosecutor’s office says the evidence came from people named on the petition who insisted they had nothing to do with the signatures listed under their names.
Her political history adds another layer to the drama. LaPlaca served as Lumberton’s mayor from 2021 to 2025 and still holds a seat on the township committee, though her current term is set to expire at the end of the year. She ran for reelection in the June primary but finished third, trailing Mayor Terrance Benson and Kendra Hatfield for the two available seats.
The new charges do not stand alone, either. Earlier this year, LaPlaca pleaded guilty in a DUI case that involved her child being in the vehicle, a case that drew major attention and kept her name in the news for all the wrong reasons. Prosecutors said she was intoxicated when she picked up her child from daycare in March 2025, and witness video reportedly showed her vehicle drifting out of its lane and nearly hitting a utility pole.
Police said her blood alcohol concentration was 0.30%, which is more than three times the legal limit. She was sentenced to three years of supervision under a pretrial intervention program, along with mandatory Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. That earlier case already raised serious questions about judgment, and the new allegations about petition fraud only intensify the pressure around her public role.
LaPlaca and Carty are scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 21 in Mount Holly, New Jersey. For now, the legal process is moving forward while the political damage keeps spreading, and the situation leaves Lumberton Township with a messy blend of criminal allegations, ballot questions and a former mayor trying to navigate both at once.
