It began last summer when the woman’s bank notified her that someone tried to get a duplicate debit card on a joint account she had with her son, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said Monday.
The thief used a New Jersey driver’s license in her son’s name, the chief said.
He then tried to open a PC Richards credit card in the son’s name in New York, Ackermann said.
There was a breach on the son’s American Express Card, as well as an attempt to open a Wells Fargo credit account, he said.
After tracing the bogus activity to an address in the city, Glen Rock Police Detective Lucas Doney worked with colleagues in the NYPD’s 24th Precinct to identify 26-year-old Emanuel Bush of Paterson as the culprit, the chief said.
Bush, who was taken into custody, had prior arrests involving drugs and weapons, records show.
He also was wanted out of Bergen County for failing to pay child support.
Loney processed Bush on charges that include fraudulent use of a credit card, theft by deception and trafficking in personal information before turning him over to Bergen County Sheriff’s officers.
Bush initially was booked into the Bergen County Jail, only to be ordered released by a judge the next day.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Paramus and receive free news updates.