MAYS LANDING, N.J. — A New Jersey police officer is accused of theft after allegedly spending a large amount of money after $100,000 was accidentally deposited into his checking account, authorities said.
LaQuay Dubose, 37, of Atlantic City, was charged with third-degree theft on Tuesday, according to a news release issued Friday by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. Dubose is an officer with the Atlantic City Police Department, The Press of Atlantic City reported.
Prosecutors said that on March 21, 2023, bank employees inadvertently deposited $100,000 into Dubose’s checking account. Six days later, bank officials realized the error and reversed the money out of Dubose’s account, The Press reported.
According to prosecutors, Dubose allegedly spent more than $35,000 of the mistakenly deposited cash before the bank corrected its errors.
The result left Dubose’s account overdrawn by $35,903.17, the release stated.
The Press reported that Dubose has an annual salary of $61,018, according to records. He is charged with theft. He has been suspended without pay, the newspaper reported.
“In March 2023, the Atlantic City Police Department was notified of discrepancies regarding the personal bank account of Officer LaQuay Dubose,” Atlantic City police Lt. Kevin Fair said in a statement. “In accordance with the Attorney General Guidelines, the information was forwarded to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office to review and investigate. Ultimately, criminal charges were filed against Dubose.”