SOUTH BOUND BROOK BOROUGH, NJ (Somerset County) – Two men have been arrested in relation to the theft by deception of funds from a contracting firm in South Bound Brook Borough by whom they were formerly employed, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.
Carlos R. Escobar, 38, of North Plainfield and Ciro A. Saenz-Puentes, 44, of New Brunswick were each charged with third-degree theft by deception, third-degree forgery, and third-degree uttering a false document, McDonald said.
Prosecutor McDonald stated that a matter was referred to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit regarding concerns involving the impropriety of funds, which was discovered by the owner of a contracting company where both Escobar and Saenz-Puentes were employed, McDonald said.
As a result of the investigation, it was determined that Escobar and Saenz-Puentes stole blank checks belonging to their employer, forged the checks, and then cashed them for unauthorized purchases estimated at $65,156.02 during the period from Sept. to Dec. 2022, McDonald said.
Both were arrested and charged at the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office on Sept. 8 and then released pending a court hearing, McDonald said.
