By: Richard L. Smith
An Essex County woman found herself in a Bergen County jail after being arrested for embezzlement.
According to a statement released by Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella on Tuesday, Ms. Briana Rodriguez, 36, of Bloomfield, was arrested on theft charges.
In March 2022, the Hackensack Police Department alerted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit to a suspected employee embezzlement case.
Detectives from the unit initiated a thorough investigation into the alleged activity.
Prosecutor Musella said their comprehensive efforts uncovered that Rodriguez, employed as a medical billing professional, had embezzled approximately $400,000 from her employer by issuing unauthorized refunds to accounts under her control.
As a result of the investigation, Rodriguez was arrested outside her residence in Bloomfield on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, with assistance from the Bloomfield Police Department, made the arrest. Rodriguez was charged with second-degree theft by unlawful taking, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3a.
She was released pending her first court appearance in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack.