HOBOKEN — A Jersey City resident has been arrested after allegedly hacking a city of Hoboken municipal account and stealing over $50,000, according to a city press release.
Cameron Gaskins, 30, was charged with five counts of seven different charges, according to Police Captain Charles Campbell: alleged computer criminal activity via accessing data, computer criminal activity via removing data, theft of identity, theft by deception, forgery, unlawful transferring of certain movable property, and credit card theft.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, an account manager in the Hoboken Finance Department noticed questionable withdrawals being made from a checking account in the name of the city of Hoboken. The city immediately notified the Hoboken Police Department Detective Bureau, and a full audit of the city’s accounts was conducted.
According to Police Chief Ken Ferrante, just over $56,000 was stolen in total from two municipal checking accounts. According to city spokesman Juan Melli, the city’s bank agreed to cover the losses.
An eight-day investigation led by Hoboken Police Detective Andrew Perez revealed that Gaskins had allegedly gained access to the accounts by circumventing security protocols, according to the press release.
A warrant for Gaskins’ arrest was issued on Aug. 21, according to Ferrante. In cooperation with the Jersey City Police Department, Hoboken officers searched for Gaskins at his residence and ultimately located him on Steadman Parkway near his mother’s house on the evening of the same day, said Ferrante.
According to the press release, Gaskins was arrested without incident. He is currently being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in lieu of a $100,000 bail.
“Thanks to the prompt action of the bank, the proactive response by our finance and police departments, and the collaboration with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and Jersey City Police Department, we were able to quickly track down and apprehend the [alleged] perpetrator,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
“Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the United States – any person, business, or government can be victimized on any given day,” said Ferrante. “These crimes are very difficult to solve, yet Detective Andrew Perez showed commitment to our city and our department in executing an outstanding investigation that put a three-time convicted felon behind bars within eight days of the start of the investigation. I am proud of his work as a new detective.”
“I credit the quick actions of the account manager for alerting the authorities and the relentless work of Detective Perez for bringing this to a quick resolution,” added Campbell.
According to the press release, bank authorities have been contacted and already addressed the security concerns arising from the incident. At this time, no other irregular activity has been reported and security measures have been upgraded.
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