By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Mercer County announced that two individuals have been charged in connection with a sophisticated business email compromise scheme that resulted in the theft of $150,000 from a local small business owner.
Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey Stated that Marijane Reilly, 69, of Marietta, New York, and Glenn James Stenzel, 64, of Granbury,Texas, were each issued a summons complaint charging them with one count of second-degree theft of property lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake.
Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, MCPO officials say.
In August 2024, Mercer County officials said the owner of a small business in Trenton reported that he fell victim to a fraudulent email scheme that redirected his wire transfer funds to an unauthorized account.
According to MCPO authorities, an investigation by the prosecutor’s Cyber Crimes Task Force ensued, and through detailed financial tracing and forensic analysis, investigators discovered that the stolen funds were wired to a Key Bank account under the control of Reilly.
Reilly subsequently disbursed the funds via official checks to Stenzel, Mercer County officials stated.
MCPO officials say surveillance footage and banking records confirmed Reilly accessed the account in New York and transferred the majority of the funds to Stenzel in Texas.
At the time of the investigation, one of the accounts still contained $30,000, which was preserved pending legal action, Mercer County officials said.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities continue efforts to identify the individuals responsible for initiating the business email compromise.