Cranbury, New Jersey, was robbed of $26 million earmarked for affordable housing, officials say

Cranbury, New Jersey, officials say the township was the victim of a multimillion-dollar theft in late September.

In a message to the community, the Cranbury Township Committee said it was "the victim of a sophisticated financial theft involving approximately $26 million wire transfer. These funds were designated for the purchase of property intended to support the township's affordable housing obligations."

No other information has been provided about what happened, with officials citing an active criminal investigation. However, the Cranbury Township Committee says through use of a task force consisting of local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies, it was able to freeze assets worth nearly $17.3 million.

Cranbury Mayor Lisa Knierim declined to provide CBS News New York with any details, saying instead she and other officials would be addressing residents' questions directly at a town meeting on Monday at 7 p.m., adding the meeting was moved to the public library to accommodate more people.

Ordinances are expected to be introduced at the meeting that would establish positions of assistant township administrator and assistant chief financial officer to provide more financial and administrative oversight.

The situation has left everyone in the community with more questions than answers.

"It's not like you put your hand in your pocket and money falls out, right? It's $26 million," former Mayor Jay Taylor said. "Honestly, I don't know how something like this happens, because there are processes and checks in place."

Residents said they only found out about the Sept. 28 theft a few days ago.

"When we got the notice the letter from the mayor, I was thinking it was recent, like that day or the day before, you know, within a couple days, not a whole month. That was very surprising," Jodi Pagano said.

"It's a shock to see and hear and it's obviously disappointing. We're hoping to get more facts. I think we all just want to know more of what really happened," Enid Kenmer added.