Ridgewood Residents Report Identity Theft, Fraud To Police

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Here is a summary of police activity that occurred in the village recently.

• Lt. Heath James conducted a motor vehicle stop on East Ridgewood Avenue Wednesday for a traffic violation and discovered the owner had active warrants for arrest out of Passaic and Paramus, police said. The warrants were confirmed and the 40-year-old Passaic man was arrested and transported to Ridgewood Police headquarters; The arrestee was able to post bail for the warrant out of Passaic and he was released on his own recognizance with a pending court date on the Paramus, police said. The man was also issued a motor vehicle summons for operating an unregistered motor vehicle, police said.
• On June 14, an employee presenting PSE&G reported defiant trespass along a right of way property owned by the company, police said. A contractor was reported to have been utilizing the right of way without permission and has caused property damage; PSE&G only requested documentation of the incident at this time and will consider signing complaints in the future, police said.
• A John Street resident responded to Ridgewood Police headquarters Thursday to report a theft. The victim reported she left her purse unattended while at a business on Oak Street and her purse was stolen, police said. The purse reportedly contained multiple items of identification, a set of keys and approximately $150, police said. The Ridgewood Police Detective Bureau is investigating the incident.
• A resident of Wood-Ridge responded to Ridgewood Police headquarters to report a fraud in Ridgewood June 8. The victim reported her purse was stolen in Teaneck in May and since discovered an unknown person cashed two fraudulent checks at a Franklin Avenue bank in Ridgewood, causing an overdraft on her account, police said; the victim reported other fraudulent checks were cashed at other locations in Bergen County too.
• On Sunday, a South Maple Avenue resident responded to Ridgewood Police headquarters to report that he is the victim of identity theft. The victim reported an unknown person had utilized the man's identity to open multiple fraudulent accounts in his name, police said. The victim reported he has had all the accounts suspended that were opened utilizing his personal identification.

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com. Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.

Image via Shutterstock