Man Stole $20K From Mahwah Doctor's Patients: Prosecutor

MAHWAH, NJ — An employee at a borough doctor's office was charged with theft after he allegedly used a smartphone application to divert $20,000 in patients' payments into his personal bank account.

Sebastian Sarria, 24, of Englewood was arrested Thursday after an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Financial Crimes Unit, said Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal.

The prosecutor's office received a complaint of possible credit card fraud from a Mahwah doctor Sept. 29, Grewal said.

Authorities investigated and discovered that Sarria, an employee at the office, accessed the office's credit card processing system and voided patients' payments, the prosecutor said. Sarria then reprocessed the payments using a smartphone application and transferred the $20,000 in payments into his personal bank account and used the money, Grewal said.

Sarria was charged with second-degree computer related theft with a value greater than $5,000, but less than $250,000, third-degree theft by deception with a value greater than $500, but less than $75,000 and third-degree fraudulent use of credit cards, Grewal said.

Sarria is scheduled to appear in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court Nov. 1.

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Photo: Sebastian Sarria, 24/Courtesy of Bergen County Prosecutor's Office