Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino announced today that Saladine Nunez, 30, of the Fords section of Woodbridge pled guilty to using a fake passport to attempt to collect nearly $250,000 fraudulently wiring to him.
According to a spokesperson for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, Assistant Prosecutor Sarah Turk, who handled the case, said between Aug. 1 and Aug. 12, 2017, Nunez opened a bank account in another person’s name and $244,973 was wired into the account.
Turks said Nunez was able to withdraw $133,196 in two cashier’s checks, one made payable to a Limited Liability Corporation and one made payable to in the name of the false identity he had used to open an account at Bank of America of Irvington.
When Nunez returned to Bank of America to withdraw the remaining money in the account, the bank realized a fraud had occurred, and he was arrested and charged with money laundering, theft by deception, identity theft, and false government documents.
Nunez subsequently pled guilty to second-degree theft by deception before the Honorable Arthur Batista, Judge of the Superior Court. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Nunez will be sentenced to three years in New Jersey State Prison and must pay full restitution. Sentencing is scheduled for March 26.
“Though crimes of this nature are nonviolent, there is a great societal impact,’’ said Assistant Prosecutor Turk. “In this case both the plea and restitution will make the victim whole and hopefully deter others from committing fraud in the future.’’