Crime & Safety

Credit Card Fraud Charges for Teaneck Man

Wyckoff Police arrested a 21-year-old man for making thousands of dollars worth of purchases with fraudulent credit cards at a local business

A Teaneck man was arrested earlier this week after allegedly swindling a local Walgreen's out of more than $2,000 in goods and gift cards, according to the Wyckoff Police Department.

Waldwick Police asked township cops to assist in locating a man who was accused of credit card fraud and had fled the Walgreen’s Pharmacy in Waldwick on Oct. 15, township police said Thursday.

Wyckoff Police quickly apprehended the man — 21-year-old Javaun Cooper — nearby.

Find out what's happening in Wyckoffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Detective Sgt. Joseph Soto then began investigating Cooper's possible involvement on similar incidents at township pharmacies. Soto discovered that the Wyckoff Walgreen’s in the Cedar Hill Shopping Center had been the victim of credit card fraud several days earlier — that case was being handled by their loss prevention department, the store told police.

"In that incident, a man had purchased a small amount of items, along with five gift cards valued at $425 each," Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox said Thursday. "He ultimately made a purchase of $2,223 with several different credit cards."

Find out what's happening in Wyckoffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It wasn't until after the man left the store that, Walgreen’s employees discovered the cards were fraudulent, according to police.

A video surveillance check revealed that the man was Cooper, the individual who had fled the Waldwick store, Wyckoff Police said.

Cooper, who lists a Beveridge Street address in Teaneck as his residence, was then picked up by Wyckoff Police and charged with theft, credit card fraud, and wrongful impersonation of another.

He was committed to the Bergen County Jail in default of $10,000 bail.     

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Joseph M. Gerace at Joseph.Gerace@patch.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox every morning, sign up for our daily newsletter.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.