Defendant Allegedly Used Funds to Pay Credit Card Charges at Eateries, Stores
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a 42-year-old Bronx man has been indicted on multiple counts of grand larceny and possession of stolen property for taking $81,171.19 in unauthorized withdrawals from a bank account belonging to the Bronx County Clerk’s Office.
District Attorney Clark said, “This defendant allegedly used taxpayer funds to pay his shopping and restaurant bills, and through electronic banking, he picked the public’s pocket. Such thievery will not be tolerated.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Jason Marks, 42, who is currently serving a prison term for filing fraudulent tax returns and receiving U.S. Treasury funds, was arraigned on the indictment on April 19, 2016, before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett. Bail set at $250,000 and the case was adjourned to April 26, 2016.
The indictment charges Marks with one count of second-degree Grand Larceny, one count of third-degree Grand Larceny, 32 counts of fourth-degree Grand Larceny, 54 counts of Petty Larceny, 32 counts of fourth-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, 54 counts of fifth-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, and 86 counts of third-degree Unlawful Possession of Personal Identification Information.
According to the investigation, between January 2014 and June 2014, 86 unauthorized electronic withdrawals were made from a Chase bank account belonging to the Bronx County Clerk’s Office to a Capital One credit card account belonging to Marks.
Representatives from the Bronx County Clerk indicated that the Chase account is used for deposits and to transfer funds to other state agencies. Only a few withdrawals are made per month and only a few staff members have access to the account.
Upon reconciling the Chase account, a County Clerk staff member noticed the unauthorized withdrawals, almost all of which were going to the same Capital One credit card account. The findings were reported to the Office of Court Administration and it referred the case to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.
Chase bank records from the County Clerk account and Capital One bank records from Marks’ account established that Marks, the only authorized user of the account, used the account number and routing number of the County Clerk Chase account to transfer the money to pay his credit card bill, for charges of meals and purchases at local restaurants and stores, or for cash withdrawals.
Marks faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys L. Newton Mendys of the Rackets Bureau and Agata DiGiovanni of the Arson, Auto, and Economic Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Stuart Levy, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, and Jean T. Walsh, Chief of the Investigations Division.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
Follow Us