It was probably appropriate that the lawsuit by Jeffrey Edwards against the New Jersey State Police and Wells Fargo Bank for false arrest, malicious prosecution and humiliation literally concluded with a prayer for relief. Known to his congregants as Pastor Jeff, the spiritual leader of the United Methodist Church of Parsippany knows a little bit about prayer.

But the arrest last year of Rev. Edwards for fraud might have tested his faith.

“It was pretty unnerving,” he said.

In the lawsuit filed Thursday in Morris County Superior Court, attorneys for the 63-year-old pastor sought unspecified damages against Wells Fargo, which has come under fire over a series of scandals in recent years. Also named were the State Police detectives who originally brought the charges against him last year after bank security officials allegedly mistakenly identified a photo of Edwards taken at an ATM machine as a suspect in a series of fraudulent check deposits.

“Whether it is creating fake customer accounts or engaging in securities fraud, Wells Fargo has already established that it couldn’t care less about its customers,” said attorney Gerald Krovatin of Newark, who represents Edwards. “This case is the latest egregious example of this bank using its immense power to malign a good and decent man, a pastor with an impeccable reputation, whose only mistake was banking with Wells Fargo.”

A spokesman for Wells Fargo said the bank had yet to be served with the complaint.

“Since this is a pending legal matter, we are unable to comment any further," said Kevin Friedlander.

A spokesman for the State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The pastor said he first discovered he was the focus of a criminal investigation last year after a parishioner texted him a State Police Facebook posting requesting the public’s help identifying a man suspected of depositing fraudulent checks at an ATM.

“She said, ‘You’ve got a twin,’” he recalled. “I saw a picture that looked pretty much like me.”

After he realized it actually was him, he said he “pretty much freaked out.” The post had already been shared more than 460 times in 24 hours.

“The math exploded in my head how this was going to go viral,” he said. “I’m a pastor and the core of my professional identity is someone who is trustworthy.”

The Wells Fargo ATM photos of Rev. Jeffrey Edwards that were distributed by the State Police in their efforts to identify a suspect in a fraudulent check cashing scheme.

According to the lawsuit, the apparent case of mistaken identity began when four checks issued by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and made payable to various state entities and utility companies were used by someone to counterfeit four separate fraudulent checks using the same check numbers and account numbers. The fake checks totaling more than $6,000 were made payable to an individual named Tyler Mathis, and then cashed at the Wells Fargo branch on Route 46 in Parsippany.

That’s where Pastor Jeff does his regular banking.

In the lawsuit, Edwards’ attorney wrote that Wells Fargo notified the State Police when it discovered the bogus transactions, and the bank was asked to provide any still photos or video images taken from the ATM at Parsippany where some of the checks were deposited and later cashed out.

The bank sent photos of Edwards, who had made his own deposit of checks at the same ATM the very same day, according to the complaint, which said a Wells Fargo security team leader told State Police investigators that she could not automatically link the check numbers to the pictures. But the lawsuit said she offered to hand-write check numbers on the photos of the man they determined had deposited the counterfeit checks — implicating Edwards.

Two State Police detectives interviewed Mathis, who admitted man known to her only as “Cousin Swing” told her he would deposit checks into her account and once they cleared, he would split the money with her, said the lawsuit. Mathis was not charged. Instead, the State Police told her she was a victim of a check fraud scam, said the complaint.

The investigators then posted to the State Police Facebook page the two photos of Edwards taken at the Wells Fargo ATM that were provided by the bank, asking the public for help in identifying the man they tied to a scam stretching from Parsippany to Neptune Township. Two radio stations and a newspaper picked it up.

In an interview, Edwards said after seeing the post, he called the detectives and shared a copy of his banking transactions to show he had not deposited the fraudulent checks. “I thought it would clear things up,” he said. “They said all their information was from Wells Fargo.”

After several months of investigation, Edwards said he grew increasingly concerned that the State Police had not cleared him.

“I didn’t know what to make of it. It didn’t seem conceivable that they could think that I did this,” he said. “I have been the pastor at the church for 29 years, with a core of people in whom I have their trust.”

Finally last September, Edwards said he was asked to come down to the State Police station in Holmdel. After he got there, he said he was shocked to find out he was being arrested and charged with third degree forgery. When he protested and said somebody made an error, he said one of the investigators asked him if the case did go to trial, who would the jury believe — a bank security expert or him?

“They fingerprinted me. Took my mug shot and gave me a court date,” he said.

The case soon fell apart. On January 16, the criminal forgery charge against Edwards was dismissed, said Krovatin. Edwards, who still does his banking at Wells Fargo, said neither Wells Fargo nor the State Police apologized.

“The carelessness of both Wells Fargo and the State Police is kind of appalling, and I wonder what happens to somebody who might not have the resources to defend themselves,” the pastor said. “I told them yes that was my picture and yes I was in the bank that day. That’s all they needed to arrest me.”

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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