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New Jersey town loses $26 million in ‘sophisticated financial theft’ A New Jersey community lost about $26 million in a “sophisticated financial theft” while attempting to wire money to acquire property for affordable housing, the mayor of Cranbury Township said in a statement. Mayor Lisa Knierim detailed the theft in a statement posted on Facebook on Friday, more than five weeks after the Sept. 28 wire transfer. Knierim oversees the five-member Cranbury Township Committee. “Our responsibility as elected officials are not only to respond to this incident, but also to ensure the continued stability and effective operation of Township government,” Knierim wrote, adding, “We recognize that news of this magnitude will understandably raise questions and concerns among our residents.” Cranbury Township, located in central New Jersey, has a population of about 4,000 residents and an annual budget of about $15 million. Knierim said local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies investigating the theft have so far identified $17.3 million that has been “successfully frozen.” The timing of Knierim’s announcement angered some residents and Republican leaders. They accused Knierim, a Democrat, of withholding the information until after Tuesday’s election, when a Democrat defeated a Republican for a seat on the Township Committee. “Why were taxpayers kept in the dark?” the New Jersey Republican Party asked in a statement. “What safeguards failed? Who is being held accountable?” Township officials plan to discuss the theft at a community meeting on Monday night.