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Howard Hoffman, 66, of Annandale, was charged with theft by unlawful taking and filing a false tax return on Wednesday, according to the Warren County Prosector's Office.
The prosecutor's office launched an investigation after cooperative members told them that they were missing approximately $57,000 in cash payments due from customers for livestock purchased at auction between 2016 and 2017.
Hoffman, the cooperative's auction master, was responsible for taking payment from customers and depositing the money into the cooperative's bank accounts, according to the county prosecutor's office.
A review of the cooperative's financial records showed a cash shortfall of $56,810 during 2016 and 2017, authorities said.
A review of Hoffman's bank statements revealed $56,300 in cash deposits into his personal bank account through a variety of ATMs, investigators said.
The cash deposits in years prior to 2016 and after 2017 were found to be a "small fraction" of what was deposited during those two years, according to the county prosector's office.
Hoffman did not pay taxes on the $56,300 in ATM deposits, according to the New Jersey Department of Treasury's Division of Taxation Office of Criminal Investigation.
He is facing a maximum sentence of five years in state prison.
His first court appearance is pending.
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