Story by Ethan
On June 27th, 2025, the arrest of Joyce Kirkland, age 59, was announced by Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel. Joyce Kirkland was charged with 29 counts of second and third-degree Theft, Money Laundering, Forgery, and Criminal Impersonation. The arrest and charges against Joyce Kirkland were a result of an investigation handled by Union County Prosecutor’s Office Special Prosecutions Unit Assistant Prosecutor James Brady and Detective Jessica Tattoli.
According to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, allegedly Joyce Kirkland would falsify documents in order to unjustly receive financial benefits from Emergency Assistance Rental Programs. Initially claims of Joyce Kirkland forging names on a deed is what caused the investigation to form, later also looking into a supposed web of criminal impersonations for several victims in order to extort money through falsified documents. Allegedly Joyce Kirkland had forged the names of deceased individuals and other unspecified parties, and would use them on real estate transaction records, to get credit cards, on checks, and for miscellaneous banking activity. The amount of money Joyce Kirkland allegedly gained from the Emergency Assistance Rental Programs totalled to approximately $300,000, and in total the aggregate amount from the supposed thefts and fraudulent schemes amounted to approximately $600,000. On June 25th, 2025, Joyce Kirkland was located and arrested in her residence in Newark, New Jersey.
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office stated that the charges against Joyce Kirkland are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
