Martinsburg Man Accused of Stealing from Employer

A Martinsburg man has been arrested after police said he stole around $53,000 from his employer.

Jay A. Garver Jr., 53, is facing 129 felony and misdemeanor charges after police said he deposited money meant for his employer into his personal bank account.

According to charges filed by Blair Township Police, the investigation into Garver began in January 2020 when police were called to Metzler Bros Transport, Inc. in Duncansville after being contacted by company officials who suspected Garver had stolen money.

According to police, in December 2019, Metzler Bros. was contacted by a loss prevention employee from the credit union where Garver had an account, regarding two checks totaling $2,938.50 that were made out to Metzler Bros. but deposited into Garver’s bank account.

When the owner initially confronted Garver about the checks, police said he claimed to know nothing about them but when confronted with copies of the deposited checks, Garver allegedly admitted to taking the checks from the mail and depositing them into his personal account.

Police said Garver did not provide his boss with a reason for stealing the checks and could not give an approximate amount, allegedly stating he “stole a lot.”

Garver’s credit union opened an investigation into his account and told police that Garver had made several large deposits since opening the account in 2017. Police said Garver was making deposits at multiple locations and via mobile services.

A Martinsburg bank where Garver allegedly made a deposit informed police that it had surveillance video of a male depositing checks from Metzler Bros. On Jan. 16, 2020, police obtained a search warrant for the video and identified Garver as the man depositing the checks.

Police obtained a search warrant for checks deposited into Garver’s account and the bank provided copies of 43 checks. Police said all 43 checks, totaling approximately $53,199, were addressed to Metzler Bros.

Police said all the deposited checks were endorsed with the name of the Metzler Bros. owner, but the owner said the signature was not his.

Police said they attempted to interview Garver twice regarding the checks, but he failed to show both times.

Garver is facing 43 felony counts of forgery, seven felony counts of theft by unlawful taking and seven felony counts of receiving stolen property as well as 36 misdemeanor counts of theft by unlawful taking, and 36 misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen property.

Garver was arraigned on May 6 by Hollidaysburg Magisterial District Judge Paula Aigner and released on $100,000 unsecured bond.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 1, in front of Aigner.