Union City postal worker accused of stealing $8k in checks in Bergen County

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A Union City postal worker has been charged with stealing over $8,000 in checks on his Bergen County route this year, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal. 

Hector Tejada. Photo courtesy of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.
Hector Tejada. Photo courtesy of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

Hector Tejada, 50, of Union City, was charged with theft by deception and forgery, Grewal said in a statement.

The arrest is result of an investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit, the Allendale Police Department and the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General.

In September 2017, a resident of Allendale told local police that a New Jersey State issued check that was to be delivered to their home had been stolen, authorities said.

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 U.S. Postal Service OIG, it was determined that Tejada, a mail carrier stationed out of Dumont, had stolen the check and had negotiated it through his personal bank account, officials said.

Further investigation of Tejada’s activities revealed that between March and October of this year, he had stolen approximately nine checks worth over $8,000 from his mail route, police said.

After stealing the checks, Tejada then forged the names of the victims on the back of each check and deposited them into his personal checking account through the use of automated teller machines and electronic deposits made via his cell phone, authorities said.

As a result, Tejada was arrested in Dumont yesterday by members of the BCPO Financial Crimes Unit, the Allendale and Dumont Police Departments, and U.S. Postal OIG agents.

Tejada was issued a summons and released pending his first appearance in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court at 9:00 a.m. 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 U.S. Postal Service OIG at 1-888-877-7644.


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