NJ bank employee admits to stealing more than $100K from dead customer

NEWARK, N.J. (PIX11) – A former bank employee in New Jersey admitted to stealing more than $100,000 in federal retirement benefits from a dead customer’s account, U.S. Attorney Phillip R. Sellinger said Thursday.

Jorge Nova, a 35-year-old bank employee from Passaic, N.J., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, court documents show. 

The deceased customer was a client of the bank that Nova worked at, according to court documents obtained by PIX11 News. 

Sometime in 2014, the customer passed away. However, the deceased still received retirement funds from the Social Security Administration. The deceased customer would receive a monthly deposit of $2,372 per month. Retirement benefits were still paid out monthly for four years. The customer's death was never reported to the SSA, according to investigators. 

Nova, employed by the bank in 2014, fraudulently obtained the funds from the account using debit cards issued to himself in the account holder's name. He then drained the deceased customer’s funds from the bank account, court documents said. 

Investigators said Nova withdrew $45,000 from 2015 to 2016 and $61,000 from 2016 to 2018. 

Nova also registered new accounts with a money service provider in the name of the deceased beneficiary and withdrew money from a second bank account held in the beneficiary’s name, authorities said. 

It remains unclear how authorities caught wind of Nova’s scheme. 

The count of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Nova is due back in court for sentencing in October 2024.