the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Carlstadt NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced that JOSHUA SALAZAR-MORENO (DOB: 3/07/2001; single; HVAC technician) of 949 E. 28th Street, Paterson, NJ was charged with attempted theft and uttering a forged document. This is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Jason Love and the Carlstadt Police Department under the direction of Acting Chief Thomas Cox.
On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit received information from the Carlstadt Police Department regarding multiple financial and banking documents that were suspected to be fraudulent.
The investigation revealed that on Monday, August 29, 2022, utilizing a third-party’s bank account, JOSHUA SALAZAR-MORENO deposited an altered/fictitious U.S. Treasury check in the amount of $161,637.45 via an automated teller machine (ATM) at a financial institution in Bergen County. This fraudulent activity was detected before SALAZAR-MORENO or any co-conspirators were able to deplete these funds.
On Thursday, November 17, 2022, SALAZAR-MORENO was charged with second-degree attempted theft, N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1a(1)/2C:20-3(a) and third-degree uttering a forged document, N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1a(3) and was released on his own recognizance pending a Central Judicial Processing Court hearing.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.