Trenton finance director warns of check-washing attempts, urges residents and businesses to monitor checks

Matthew Masisklas, the city finance director, told the Trenton City Council on Jan. 16 that the city has seen a rise in attempts to alter or copy checks and urged residents and small businesses to monitor their accounts.

"When we issue a check, we tell the bank that we issue each check ... essentially double issue the check. And, if the bank receives a check drawn on our warrants that someone else tries to cash ... it will compare against all of the checks we've told it we sent. And then if it doesn't match, that gets flagged and sent to my office for a rejection," Masisklas said during his report to the council. He told the council that the city had identified about nine such incidents since November; several were reported to police and are under investigation.

Masisklas described the city’s process for preventing fraudulent checks: the finance office sends the bank a list of issued checks so the bank can compare any presented items; if a presented check does not match the issued list it is flagged and returned for review. He said the city has not had public funds stolen in these incidents but cautioned that small businesses are more vulnerable.

Council members asked whether the incidents represented one group or several; Masisklas said the city’s police department is handling the investigation.

Why it matters: the finance director’s report signals a local fraud trend that could affect residents and small businesses; the city urged vigilance and coordination with law enforcement and the finance office.

No formal council action on this report was recorded.