Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced the arrest of Hector O. Tejada, 50, of Union City, on Theft by Deception and Forgery charges.
According to authorities, in September 2017, a resident of Allendale responded to the Allendale Police Department to complain that a New Jersey State issued a check that was to be delivered to the resident’s home had been stolen. During the course of a cooperative investigation conducted by members of the BCPO Financial Crimes Unit and the Allendale Police Department with the assistance of agents of the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, it was determined that Tejada, a United States Postal Service mail carrier stationed out of the U.S. Post Office in Dumont, had stolen the check and had deposited into his personal bank account.
An investigation of Tejada’s activities revealed that between March 2017 and October 2017, he had stolen, from his mail route, approximately nine checks worth over $8,000.00.
After stealing the checks, Tejada forged the names of the victims (check receivers) on the back of each check and deposited them into his checking account through the use of automated teller machines and cellular telephone, electronic deposits.
Members of the BCPO Financial Crimes Unit, the Allendale and Dumont Police Departments, and U.S. Postal OIG agents arrested Tejada on December 11th and charged him with Theft by Deception and Forgery.
Authorities issued Tejada a summons and released him pending his first appearance in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court on December 27th.
This is an ongoing investigation and members of the public, particularly in the Dumont area, who suspect they may have been the victim of mail theft are encouraged to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office at 1-201-226-5532 or the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General at 1-888-877-7644.
Prosecutor Grewal states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.