The Palmyra Police Department has announced a second arrest in relation to a scheme that resulted in the theft of over $10,000 from the Palmyra Dollars for Scholars foundation.
The police responded to a report from the Community Bank on December 6, 2022, indicating numerous checks, amounting to over $10,000, had been fraudulently deposited and withdrawn.
The checks were duplicated and forged from several other banks within the state, leading to the identification of two suspects after a thorough investigation.
The suspects, Jahil L. Nougues, 24, of Teaneck, New Jersey, and Daniel J. Hooper, 19, of Palmyra, were both charged with fourth-degree money laundering, fourth degree grand larceny, and fifth-degree conspiracy.
The two men met at Wells College, a private liberal arts institution in Aurora and devised a plan to duplicate, forge, and cash the checks.
Following the bank’s alert to the organization about the suspicious activity, the account was frozen, and the Palmyra Dollars for Scholars was made whole for the thefts by Community Bank. The case against Nougues and Hooper will be presented to a Wayne County Grand Jury, according to Wayne County District Attorney Mike Colarco.
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