California woman charged for defrauding Morris County victim of $800K in email scheme
HANOVER TOWNSHIP, NJ (Morris County) – A California woman has been charged in connection with a fraud investigation that occurred in Hanover Township, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll.
The complaint warrant alleges that on July 27, 2023, Anna Marie Bustamante, 63, of Visalia, California, defrauded the victim out of $806,727.92, via a business email compromise, in which the defendant posed as an authorized vendor, Carroll said.
The victim sent the funds to Bustamante, via a bank account that was made to resemble the bank account of the authorized vendor. On August 3, 2023, the victim learned that they had been defrauded and contacted the Hanover Township Police Department to report the crime, Carroll said.
“The incident remains under investigation. The identity of the victim will not be released,” Carroll said.
As a result of the investigation, Bustamante has been charged with second-degree theft, Carroll said.
Pursuant to the Criminal Justice Reform Act, Bustamante has been detained in the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office in California, awaiting extradition to the Morris County Correctional Facility, pending future court proceedings, Carroll said.
