Fraud Cases Continue To Be Reported In Nutley, Police Say

NUTLEY, NJ — Cases of fraud continue to be reported in Nutley, local police say.

According to the Nutley Police Department, the following incidents were recently reported in the township:

Oct. 30 – “The victim reported to officers that upon checking their financial records they observed a check written out for $6,800 that they did not authorize. The supervisor was contacted and advised of the incident, which they promptly put a hold on the victim’s accounts.”

Oct. 31 – “The victim reported three fraudulent attempts made on their credit card account. The attempts were made in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, El Paso, Texas, and Orlando Florida. The financial institution was advised of the attempts, and it is not known if there were any purchases made on any of the accounts. The victim was advised to continue to monitor their accounts and to report any further fraudulent activity to headquarters.”

Nov. 1 – “Headquarters received a report of a scam. The victim stated that an inmate inside the New York City Correctional System on Rikers Island scammed them out of $2,000. The caller claimed to be a friend of a relative of the victim and needed money to make their bail. The victim felt bad and sent two payments of $1,000 each through Western Union and has not heard from the caller in over a week. After discovering the caller was incarcerated for grand larceny and impersonating a police officer, the victim felt they may have been scammed.”

Nov. 2 – “The victim reported to headquarters they were contacted by their financial institution and advised that an actor, using their New Jersey driver’s license tried to withdraw $4,500 from the victim’s checking account at a branch in Florida. The actor was unsuccessful in obtaining any funds, and the checking account has been closed. The victim was advised by officers to contact all their financial institutions and Social Security to advise of the situation.”

Nov. 4 – “Officers spoke with the victims in regarding to a report of fraud. The victims were in contact with a party who provided the name “Michael Butler” regarding an apartment found on Zillow. He stated he lived in Florida and sent an application via email which the victims filled out and returned. A lease was sent with “Michael Butler” listed as the landlord with a monthly rent of $1,300 and security deposit of $900. The lease was signed by the victims and the money was sent via Zelle to a “Jennifer Jeffers,” who was told to be a New Jersey resident that takes care of the property. Total transactions close to $3,000. "Michael Butler" told the victims that the keys would be sent later in the day. The victims checked the listing again and saw that multiple people posted that the property was a scam and not to send funds. The victims tried to call “Michael Butler” to get their money back with no answer.”

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