Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo announced the arrest of Tina Madison, 56, of Cresskill, on Theft By Deception, Forgery, Records Tampering, and Money Laundering charges.
According to authorities, in July 2018, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit received a complaint that Madison was suspected of forging and cashing checks from the account of her Bergen County-based employer.
An investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit revealed that between 2010 and July of 2018, Madison, who was working as an administrative assistant at a Bergen County business, had gained access to her employer’s checking account and written checks which she negotiated for her own benefit.
Officials say Madison forged the writing, signatures, and endorsements on the checks. To negotiate the checks, she either cashed them with a forged endorsement or deposited them into her own business bank account from which she withdrew cash. To conceal the theft, Madison altered the victim’s bank statements which she would then file for record keeping purposes.
According to authorities, the total theft by Madison was in excess of $1,000,000.
Police arrested Madison on Aug. 3rd in Cresskill and charged her with one count of Financial Facilitation Of Criminal Activity, with the amount involved being greater than $500,000, one count of Theft By Deception, with the amount involved being greater than $75,000, one count of Forgery of a Check, and one count of Falsifying or Tampering With Records.
According to authorities, Madison is scheduled for a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on Aug. 15th at 8:30 a.m.
Acting Prosecutor Calo states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.