How a nj transit worker scammed agency out of $700k using stolen phones — NJ Transit - Aberdeen station Photo 103079989 © Jiawangkun | Dreamstime.com

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey Transit employee has been criminally charged for allegedly profiting off a multi-year scheme in which he sold hundreds of agency-funded smartphones to third-party buyers, state officials announced Monday.

Peejay Manila, 37, of Hackensack, is accused of using his authority within the transit agency to order mobile devices with public funds, then diverting them for personal financial gain. According to a complaint filed by the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability (OPIA), Manila sold approximately 850 phones and other electronic devices between November 2020 and April 2025.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said Manila “betrayed his employer, his coworkers, and the people who ride NJ Transit,” and emphasized the state’s commitment to prosecuting public corruption.

Authorities say the defendant collected over $700,000 in payments by funneling the equipment to various cellphone buy-back companies, including those that pay for devices shipped in by mail. Most of the phones were reportedly purchased using fare proceeds and tax dollars.

Manila faces two counts of theft — one second-degree and one third-degree — along with a third-degree charge of receiving stolen property. The investigation remains ongoing.

Phones seized at residence during warrant search

Investigators executed search warrants last Wednesday at Manila’s home, office, and vehicle. Inside his Hackensack apartment, they recovered about 20 smartphones, 11 of which were still in factory-sealed boxes. Nine of the phones were already packaged for shipment and addressed to a cellphone reseller, according to authorities.

Records show that most of the seized phones had been ordered by Manila through NJ Transit channels. He had been employed by the agency since December 2019 and had authorized access to purchase devices for employee use.

“The defendant sold them for personal gain,” said OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner. “These devices were owned by a State agency.”

From November 2024 through April 2025, officials allege Manila expanded the operation to include additional phone resellers, generating further income from state-purchased property.

Second-degree theft convictions carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison and $150,000 in fines. Third-degree offenses may result in up to five years behind bars and a $15,000 fine.

Deputy Attorneys General Rich Bobbe and Krysta Chotkowski are prosecuting the case under the direction of the OPIA Corruption Bureau.

A state transit employee is accused of turning taxpayer-funded iPhones into a six-figure profit scheme.

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