Bergen County Postal Worker Charged With Bank Fraud, Mail Theft

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A U.S. Postal Service employee is behind bars and accused of stealing mail and committing bank fraud. According to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, Juan Torres, 27, of Hackensack stole checks sent through the mail and fraudulently deposited them without authorization.

Torres has been charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of mail theft. He appeared Wednesday afternoon via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor.

According to documents filed in this case, from Nov. 2019 to Jan. 11, 2020, checks addressed to third-party victims and mailed to addresses on postal routes in Hackensack, Leonia, and Maywood, New Jersey, were stolen on or about the same dates that Torres was delivering mail on those routes.

Ultimately, authorities said those checks were fraudulently deposited by Torres, in New Jersey and elsewhere, into a bank account that he controlled.

The bank fraud charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The mail theft charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.