Cranbury Township Loses $26 Million in Wire Fraud; Disclosure Came After the Election, with $17.3 Million Frozen
CRANBURY, New Jersey — Cranbury Township lost $26 million in a wire fraud scheme, Mayor Lisa Knierim announced on Facebook on November 6 — just three days after the November 3 election — drawing strong resident backlash. The money, earmarked to buy land to meet the township's affordable-housing obligations, vanished in a fraudulent wire transfer on September 28. The mayor called it a 'complex financial event.' Investigators have so far frozen $17.3 million, with $8.7 million still missing. Cranbury police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office are investigating jointly. Three days before the announcement, the mayor's endorsed Democratic candidate, Thomas Szychul Jr., beat Republican Carol Harring 63% to 37%, preserving the Democrats' 5-0 hold on the township committee. Residents are asking why the township waited until after the election to disclose the huge loss; the township has not explained the delay or revealed how the fraud was carried out. Investigators say efforts to recover the remaining funds continue.
Source: New York Post
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：新泽西州克兰伯里镇Main Street（资料图）。Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Photo: Main Street, Cranbury Township, New Jersey (file photo). Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
