$26 million meant for NJ affordable housing was stolen — and officials waited until after Election Day to tell residents

A New Jersey township lost $26 million in a fraudulent wire transfer meant to buy property for its affordable-housing obligations — and Democratic officials did not tell residents until three days after Election Day, the New York Post reported.

Cranbury Township Mayor Lisa Knierim announced the theft in a Nov. 6 Facebook post, calling it a "sophisticated financial incident." The money disappeared Sept. 28. Investigators have frozen $17.3 million of the funds, leaving $8.7 million unaccounted for.

The announcement came after Democrat Thomas Szczur Jr., the mayor's preferred candidate, defeated Republican Carol Haring 63 percent to 37 percent on Nov. 3, keeping Democrats' 5-0 control of the Township Committee. Knierim offered no explanation for why residents were kept in the dark for more than five weeks. A task force of local, county, state and federal investigators, led by Cranbury police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, is working to recover the money. Officials also created two new township positions and hired a municipal accounting firm.