By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Bergen County announced that charges were filed against 33-year-old Ciprian A. Tiber and 43-year-old Ahmed Zarei, both of Romania.
According to Bergen County officials, the two men have been charged with theft by deception and two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The charges result from a long-term, joint investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck and the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department under the direction of Chief Joseph Rinke., County officials say.
In September 2023, County officials stated that the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit regarding an allegation of a fraudulent gold transaction.
Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit and Hasbrouck Heights Police Department began a year-long investigation that revealed Ciprian A. Tiber and Ahmed Zarei orchestrated an in-person meeting to exchange purported gold coils for Bitcoin, County authorities said.
Specifically, Tiber and Zarei negotiated a deal with a victim from Bergen County to trade gold coils for more than 11 Bitcoins, which, at the time of the transaction, were valued at approximately $289,000.00, officials say. The physical coils that Tiber and Zarei provided to the victim in exchange for Bitcoin were later determined to be counterfeit.
Bergen County officials stated that during a lengthy investigation, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit conducted cryptocurrency tracing that linked the fraudulently obtained Bitcoin to cryptocurrency wallets possessed by or under the control of Ciprian A. Tiber and Ahmed Zarei.
During the investigation, detectives also determined that Tiber and Zarei transferred the fraudulently obtained funds through several cryptocurrency exchange accounts containing fictitious names to obfuscate and convert the Bitcoin they fraudulently received, Bergen County authorities said.
As a result of the investigation, County officials said, on Friday, October 25, detectives obtained arrest warrants in Bergen County Superior Court charging Ciprian A. Tiber and Ahmed Zarei with one count of second-degree Theft by Deception and two counts of second-degree Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, respectively.
As of Friday, December 6, 2024, these individuals remain at large, having left the state of New Jersey after the fraudulent transaction, officials said.
According to Bergen County authorities, with assistance from the United States Secret Service, detectives have confirmed that Tiber and Zarei's last known residences are in Romania.