Crime & Safety

Kinnelon Man Accused of Embezzling $1.6M

Bergen prosecutor said George Ortega was allegedly involved in fraudulent billing schemes.

A man has been accused of embezzling $1.6 million through fraudulent billing schemes and theft of cash payments, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said.

George Ortega, 50, was charged Wednesday with one count of first-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity, one count of second-degree theft by deception and one count of second-degree misconduct by a corporate official.

According to Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Mollinelli, Ortega was the managing director of Passport CFS Logistics, of North Bergen, when he allegedly embezzled or unlawfully obtained $1,602,391 from ARGIX Direct, a company that specializes in transporting shipping containers from northeastern U.S. ports.

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Passport CFS Logistics is a business unit of ARGIX Direct, the prosecutor's office said, and holds a facility where the cargo units are stripped and separated before being shipped to locations across the country.

Mollinelli's office conducted an investigation examining records from January 2003 through May 2011.

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The prosecutor's office said Ortega had allegedly created fraudulent payments to vendors using fake invoices; created a "shell business" to schedule and direct fraudulent commission payments; altered computer records; distributed checks to principals of businesses with extensive refunds being made to himself and others; and disguised checks as made payments to "trucking, transportation, or container handling companies and created false supporting documentation and invoices but diverted the checks to businesses providing services or products to himself or his family members and private residence.

The prosecutor's office is still investigating the case and said further arrests are expected.   


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