MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Chief of Investigations Stephen F. Wilson, Jr. announce the arrest of Pedro Lopez-Hernandez, 38, Morristown, on various theft related charges.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (“MARTA”) was the victim of a business email scheme. MARTA received false invoice instructions, in a compromised email, from a known vendor’s account instructing payments to be made to an updated Bank of America account. Based on this fraudulent email, MARTA made two payments totaling $399,024.63.
The investigation determined these monies were deposited into Lopez-Hernandez’ Bank of America account. The defendant is not an employee or in any way associated with the victim or the vendor, Numbers Only. The defendant subsequently depleted the account in its entirety using cash withdrawals and wire transfers. The defendant has been charged with the following offenses:
- One count of Receiving Stolen Property, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7, a crime of the Second degree;
- One count of Theft by Deception, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4, a crime of the Second degree;
- One count of Financial Facilitation of Criminal Activity, i.e. Money Laundering, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-25B(2)(B), a crime of the Second degree;
- One count of Conspiracy to commit Theft by Deception, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2a(1) and 2C:20-4, a crime of the Second degree.
Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Specialized Crimes, Financial Crimes Unit; Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Fugitive Unit and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Division of Police Services whose efforts contributed to the investigation of this case.
Editors Note: A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, the defendant is presumed innocent until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
