Rochelle Park NJ police arrested a man who allegedly stole, forged, and cashed checks in an amount totaling than $30,000 in order to feed his heroin addiction.

According to authorities, the 44-year-old suspect was employed by the victim. Additionally, the victim let the suspect live with him. The arrangement was apparently a form of goodwill for the suspect.

However, the employer became suspicious of the arrangement when one of his business checks bounced due to insufficient funds.

The victim took a close look at his bank records and learned that many personal checks had been issued and cashed without his consent.

The victim notified Rochelle Park police. Detectives then conducted a far-reaching investigation into the various bank transactions. Police looked at bank surveillance footage and eventually identified the suspect as the person who had been illegally cashing the checks.

Police spoke with the suspect, who allegedly told them that he committed the thefts in order to finance his costly heroin addiction.

Authorities believe that the suspect stole and cashed as many as 130 checks from the victim’s bank account.

The suspect has been charged with theft of movable property, theft by deception, and forgery.

After being arrested and charged, the suspect was taken to the Bergen County Jail. He is being held at the facility in lieu of $45,000 bail.

The investigation remains ongoing. Rochelle Park detectives are still searching bank records to identify other possible thefts in the case.

For further information about this case, access the NJ.com article entitled “N.J. Man Stole $30K in Checks to Fund Heroin Habit, Police Say.”