NEW JERSEY PAROLE OFFICER CHARGED WITH THEFT BY DECEPTION

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Public Integrity Unit, Internal Affairs Section in conjunction with the North Bergen Police Department, arrested and charged a New Jersey Parole Officer with Theft by Deception following an investigation.

Jorge Ortega, age 41, of Jersey City, was arrested in the afternoon on Friday, December 11, 2020, at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in Jersey City.

Ortega has been charged with Theft by Deception in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4a, a disorderly persons offense, and was released on a summons complaint. His first court appearance is scheduled for January 4, 2021.

The investigation discovered that Ortega, on diverse dates between July 2020 and October 2020, used the commonly-called “ticket switch fraud” to change the labels on various higher value items for lower value items at the Target on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen.

Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office HCPO Public Integrity Unit, Internal Affairs Section and the North Bergen Police Department with the investigation and arrest.

The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).