By: Richard L. Smith
Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged multi-million-dollar business email compromise scheme that diverted more than $7.7 million from a Bergen County real estate transaction, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.
The arrests followed a joint investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit and the Hackensack Police Department.
Authorities said the investigation began in December 2025 after Hackensack Police alerted prosecutors to a sophisticated fraud scheme targeting a high-value real estate deal involving a Bergen County business.
Investigators identified Jason S. McNeill, 49, of Wyckoff, and Ryan A. Telesford, 43, of Lake Worth, Florida, as participants in the scheme.
According to prosecutors, the defendants worked with other individuals to carry out a business email compromise operation, using encrypted electronic communications and fraudulent banking instructions to redirect approximately $7,756,157 from its intended destination.
Investigators allege the funds were then transferred through a network of financial accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy.
Authorities said McNeill and Telesford helped move and conceal the stolen proceeds, including transferring funds into accounts under their control.
On May 27, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, working with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Unit and the U.S. Marshals Task Force, arrested Telesford at his residence in Florida.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree money laundering, second-degree conspiracy to commit theft by deception, and second-degree conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Telesford remains jailed in Florida awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
The following day, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit, assisted by the Hackensack and Wyckoff police departments, executed a court-authorized search warrant at McNeill’s residence in Wyckoff.
McNeill was subsequently arrested and charged with the same offenses, including first-degree money laundering and conspiracy-related charges.
He was remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending a detention hearing in Superior Court in Hackensack.