West Caldwell Police Dept. Identifies Irvington Man as Suspect in Three Check Fraud Cases

WEST CALDWELL, NJ – The West Caldwell Police Department has been actively investigating multiple incidents of check fraud connected to the U.S. Postal Service, which has led to the identification of an Irvington man as the suspect in the three cases.

After reviewing a total of 38 cases, the WCPD determined that it would handle these investigations locally after consulting with the USPIS Postal Inspector, which led to the following developments in these cases:

On April 24. 2023, a resident of Caldwell reported that he dropped off a package at the West Caldwell Post Office on April 2, 2023, that contained a $24,000 check he was mailing out.  After being notified that the check never arrived, he discovered that it was cashed by an unauthorized recipient.  Det. Kazoun investigated and obtained the image of a then-unidentified male, who used a third party’s bank account three times on three separate days to make small deposits.  The fourth time the account was accessed, the same individual used the same account to deposit the stolen check.  Working together on the postal fraud cases, Det. Kazoun and Det. Potucek realized they had the same suspect in multiple surveillance videos from a total of three of their cases. On May 10 and June 16, 2023, a local business owner reported checks totaling $12,151.97 that were altered and cashed by unauthorized individuals. Detective Potucek began an investigation that led to discovering that the same individuals approached patrons at ATMs for the negotiation of the checks.
On Aug. 24, 2023, a local resident reported he mailed a check on July 10, 2023, for $60.78 to pay his water bill.  After determining the check never arrived at its intended destination, he checked his account and discovered the check had been altered and negotiated for $960.78 by an unknown individual.  Det. Kazoun investigated and discovered that the same male as in the other postal cases approached another individual at an ATM and deposited the check into that person’s account.
Alvin Burroughs, 34, of Irvington has been identified as the suspect in all three check fraud cases. On Sept. 23, 2024, Burroughs was charged with multiple counts of Identity Theft, Receiving Stolen Property, Forgery, and Theft by Deception related to incidents that occurred between May and August 2023. Burroughs is currently on federal probation and is making arrangements to surrender to our agency on these charges.

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