Roxanne D. Elliott, 52, of Hackensack, pleaded guilty to a criminal accusation charging third-degree theft by deception before Superior Court Judge Edward J. Jerejian in Bergen County.

Judge Jerejian scheduled sentencing for March 22.  Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Elliott be sentenced to 364 days in jail as a condition of probation.  She will also be ordered to pay $53,830 in restitution.

In pleading guilty, Elliott admitted that between Dec. 14, 2010 and June 13, 2011, she stole $53,830 by issuing five checks from her employer’s bank account to her own personal bank account.  An investigation determined that Elliott accessed her employer’s account by forging her employer’s signature on various checks, transferring funds between accounts and issuing checks made payable to herself without the consent or knowledge of her employer. 

Deputy Attorney General Frank Brady and Detective Abraham Aquino, both from the Division of Criminal Justice’s Financial and Computer Crimes Bureau, coordinated the investigation.  Deputy Attorney General Brady represented the Division of Criminal Justice at the guilty plea hearing.  Attorney General Chiesa thanked the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office for referring the matter to the Division of Criminal Justice.  He also thanked the Hackensack Police Department for its assistance in the investigation.

Attorney General Chiesa and Director Taylor noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has a confidential, toll-free tipline for the public to report financial fraud, corruption and other illegal activities: 1-866-TIPS-4CJ. The public also can log on to the Division Web site at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing confidentially.

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