What to Know
- A bank employee and her boyfriend allegedly stole about $375,000 from the accounts of a deceased New Jersey resident, authorities say
- Allegedly, Shannell Griggs, a bank worker, used the bank’s computerized account, customer service systems to access the accounts
- Griggs and her boyfriend, Givonni Butler, allegedly stole about $375,000 through debit card purchases, cash withdrawals and wire transfers
A bank employee and her boyfriend allegedly stole about $375,000 from the accounts of a deceased New Jersey resident, authorities say.
According to Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo, Shannell Griggs, a bank worker, unlawfully used the bank’s computerized account and customer service systems to access and take over the bank accounts of a deceased Teaneck resident.
Authorities say that Griggs, of Syracuse, New York, and her boyfriend Givonni Butler, of Passaic, New Jersey, allegedly stole about $375,000 through illicit debit card purchases, cash withdrawals, wire transfers and cashier check purchases.
Authorities were informed of the alleged illicit actions after the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit received a complaint in December 2017 from the executor of the victim’s estate who reported that the deceased victim’s bank accounts had allegedly been accessed by an unknown party between 2015 and 2016.
Griggs, 28, was arrested June 29 in Syracuse and charged with one count of computer-related theft in an amount greater than $250,000, one count of impersonation for the purpose of obtaining a benefit in an amount greater than $75,000 and one count of financial facilitation of criminal activity in an amount greater than $75,000 but less than $500,000.
A warrant for Butler’s arrest was issued on July 3 and served on July 5. Butler, 28, is currently serving a prison sentence in Pennsylvania in an unrelated matter, according to prosecutors.
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Butler was charged with one count of receiving stolen property with a value greater than $75,000 and one count of conspiracy to commit computer-related theft in an amount greater than $5,000.
It is not immediately clear if Griggs or Butler retained attorneys who could comment on the charges.
