Employee steals $1.3M in cellphones from New Jersey Transit to fund world wide vacations

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A former NJ Transit supervisor will have to pay back more than $1.3 million after admitting to stealing over 1,000 cellphones in a years-long scheme, authorities said.

Peejay Manila, 37, formerly of Hackensack and now of Little Ferry, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, March 24, in Bergen County Superior Court, Davenport said. Manila pleaded guilty to theft by unlawful taking and third-degree failure to pay or turn over taxes, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said.

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Manila began working for NJ Transit on Dec. 2, 2019, as a senior director and was later promoted to chief of digital workspace. In that job, he had access to NJ Transit’s account with a wireless provider to buy electronic devices for use by employees, using agency funds.

He admitted to stealing more than 1,000 devices, costing NJ Transit around $1.3 million, according to the attorney general’s office. He used the proceeds for vacations, including trips to Japan and Dubai.

Manila contacted another NJ Transit employee to request the removal of a system that restricts content on the work phones.

He later sold the devices to five separate resale companies — services that pay individuals to ship in phones — generating more than $900,000 in illegal profit.

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On May 8, 2025, law enforcement executed search warrants at Manila’s apartment, office and vehicle. Police found approximately 20 cellphones, 11 of which were new and in unopened boxes, at his residence.

Nine of the phones were wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in a box labeled for shipment to a cellphone buyback company. The majority of the phones seized from Manila’s home were confirmed to have been ordered by him through his employment with NJ Transit.

He also was charged with failing to pay $56,000 in state taxes on more than $900,000 in illegal profit.

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