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Thieves Snatch Teaneck Residents' Checks From Postal Boxes, Forge Them For $240,218
A criminal crew stole checks mailed by Teaneck residents from postal boxes, then changed the amounts to more than 100 times the totals and cashed them, federal authorities said.
Noah Aranzamendi, 25, of Brooklyn, and his associates used universal (or "arrow") keys to open the outdoor mailboxes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
They then shared images via an encrypted message app of the checks, which were then altered, the U.S. attorney said.
The four checks, which were initially written out for a total of $1,896.59, ended up fetching a whopping $240,218, he said.
The crew sold the …
Feds: Five Caught, One Sought In Thefts Of $300,000 In Checks From North Jersey Mailboxes
At least $300,000 in checks were stolen from mailboxes in Bergen, Passaic and other counties by a Paterson-based ring that immediately deposited them into bank accounts, said federal authorities who arrested five accused crew members and were searching for a sixth.
Some “broke into mail collection boxes using pry bars, usually late at night…then fraudulently deposited them into various bank accounts, often within a day of being stolen,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Monday.
Besides Bergen and Passaic, the defendants stole checks from U.S. Postal Service boxes in Morris, Essex and Middl…