$194K Intercepted From Food Program, Man Charged In Bergen Co.: Police

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A New York man faces multiple charges after he was accused of intercepting a check in the approximate amount of $194,000 issued by Bergen County to a local hunger-relief nonprofit and depositing it into a fraudulent bank account, according to official records.

Adriano Averzano, 39, of Brooklyn, was charged after an investigation revealed that he and others conspired to open a fictitious bank account using the name of an identify theft victim and business information of food relief agency Center for Food Action, a criminal complaint said.

He then deposited the check intended for the nonprofit into that account, and he, along with other conspirators, subsequently withdrew funds and completed wire transfers to deplete the funds, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The scheme, Musella added, covered three states and encompassed multiple shell entities.

Averzano was charged Tuesday with second- degree theft, second-degree conspiracy to commit theft, second-degree theft by deception, second-degree conspiracy to commit theft by deception, second-degree money laundering, second-degree conspiracy to commit money laundering, fourth-degree identity theft, and fourth-degree conspiracy to commit identity theft. He was released on his own recognizance pending a future court hearing, Musella said.

Additional arrests stemming from this investigation are anticipated, the prosecutor's office said.