Check thefts at Bnai Yeshurun, Beth Abraham remain unsolved

Police in two Bergen County towns have neen investigating the theft of checks for donations and membership dues from mailboxes at Orthodox synagogues.

At Cong. Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, shul manager Debby Posner said the thefts occurred multiple times, and totaled from $5,000 to $6,000. A fake hand-stamp was used to endorse the checks, and they were deposited in a bank based in Clayton, Mo., and the cash withdrawn.

Similar thefts were reported at Cong. Beth Abraham in Bergenfield, where police said there was an “ongoing investigation.” A spokesman at Beth Abraham declined to comment.

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The thefts at Bnai Yeshurun were discovered earlier this month when congregants were approached about outstanding bills but reported that their checks had been deposited, Posner said.

The Teaneck detective in charge of the case was not available for comment.

Similar thefts have been reported in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, with a number of shuls targeted, said Dov Cohen, a spokesman for New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind.

It was unclear exactly when the thefts started, said Cohen, but they go back at least to September. Besides checks taken from mailboxes, in some cases shuls were burglarized and checks taken from offices, he said.

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