A dozen people have been charged after allegedly working together to steal millions from a program created during the COVID pandemic meant to help businesses, according to the New Jersey District Attorney's Office.

The people involved are accused of obtaining official documents of various businesses and then using those documents to steal checks and deposit the money into fake bank accounts that they opened in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania, officials said.

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These crimes happened between March 2023 and March 2025, officials explained. Many of the stolen checks were issued through the Treasury Department's Employee Retention Credit which was meant to help businesses keep their employees during COVID.

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