Nwaokoma Nwakanma, 30, of Westland, MI claimed to work for Bioneutral Chem Group, a bogus Newark-based company that purported to be a legitimate business, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Cresskill police got wind of the scam and alerted detectives from Musella’s Financial Crimes Unit in early June, the prosecutor said.
They investigated and obtained an arrest warrant for Nwakanma, of Westland, MI, who was taken into custody by police in his town in early July and initially held as a fugitive from justice in the Wayne County Jail, records show.
Nwakanma eventually was extradited to New Jersey, where he spent 10 days in the Bergen County Jail before a Central Judicial Processing Court Judge released him pending trial on charges of theft by deception.
The investigation is far from over, Musella said.
He asked that anyone who did business with Nwakanma or with Bioneutral Chem Group for the purchase of personal protection equipment contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office tipline: (201) 226-5532.
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