A former North Bergen tax clerk has been arrested for allegedly accepting cash payments of quarterly tax bills from residents, then pocketing the cash.
Vickyana Jimenez, 25, of North Bergen allegedly then erased the payments from the town’s computer system.
The only problem was that the people had receipts of payment, said County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.
“After the delinquent notices went out, a couple of these taxpayers came in and spoke with the tax collector, so there was some time that went on between the [alleged] thefts and when they were discovered,” said DeFazio.
According to DeFazio, the tax payments in question came from quarterly tax bills from two separate property owners for 2007 and 2008.
Jimenez was arrested on charges of theft and official misconduct on Oct. 16 and released on $50,000 bail.
DeFazio said that the prosecutor’s office has an approximate amount that they believe she allegedly stole, is not releasing that figure at this time. DeFazio said it was under $10,000.
Discrepancies lead to investigation
The investigation was initially conducted by the town’s tax collector, who is a different person than the tax clerk. When the tax collector heard about the discrepancies, he spoke with Town Attorney Herbert Klitzner. Then he began an extensive audit of the town’s tax payment records.
Klitzner said that after they began to see inconsistencies during their internal investigation, Klitzner called the prosecutor’s office.
Property owners had receipts that were issued by Jimenez, yet the office had no record of payment, said Klitzner.
An investigation was then conducted by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit.
Klitzner said that Jimenez resigned from her position as a clerk typist over the summer while the investigation was ongoing. He said that she was well-liked and that everyone in the tax office was saddened by the event.
DeFazio said that based on their review of North Bergen’s tax records, it doesn’t appear that anyone else has had their payments deleted.
Klitzner said that the tax office is very confident that everyone’s records are in order now.
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